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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

President Aoun meets with Austrian FM, requests support on repatriation of Syrian refugees

President Aoun meets with Austrian FM, requests support on repatriation of Syrian refugees

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (second from left) met with President Michel Aoun in Baabda toady. (Credit: NNA)

BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun asked Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on Wednesday for support in the repatriation of Syrian refugees located in Lebanon during a meeting between the two in Baabda. 

Here’s what we know:

    • Lebanon has hosted roughly 1.5 million refugees from Syria since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Opinions on the repatriation issue are divided, with some, like President Aoun, believing that the situation in Syria is safe enough for refugees who fled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to return. On the other hand, the UN and many experts believe that conditions are still too dangerous, and that some returnees could be met with reprisals from the regime.

    • According to a press release from the Lebanese presidency, Aoun also emphasized "the importance of negotiations between Lebanon and the IMF to get out of the current crisis," stressing that there exists "a will of both parties for the success of the process."

    • The Austrian foreign minister, in turn, called on Lebanese authorities to facilitate "the passage of the laws required for negotiations with the IMF to be successful and for the establishment of the necessary monetary and economic policies.”

    • "The European Union is ready to grant massive economic aid once an agreement is reached with the IMF,” Schallenberg added. "Austria will continue to provide humanitarian aid [to Lebanon] this year as it has done in the past, and we will remain at the side of the Lebanese people."

    • After his meeting in Baabda, Schallenberg went to the Grand Serail, where he discussed with Prime Minister Najib Mikati "the means of strengthening relations" between Vienna and Beirut, according to the state-run National News Agency.

    • The Austrian minister also inspected the Vienna contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as well as refugee camps across the country.

BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun asked Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on Wednesday for support in the repatriation of Syrian refugees located in Lebanon during a meeting between the two in Baabda. Here’s what we know:    • Lebanon has hosted roughly 1.5 million refugees from Syria since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Opinions on the...