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British minister rules out possibility of naturalization of refugees in Lebanon

British Minister for Syrian Refugees Richard Harrington During his talks with Lebanese Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Gebran Bassil
British Minister for Syrian Refugees Richard Harrington During his talks with Lebanese Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Gebran Bassil
BEIRUT, May 24 (KUNA) -- British Minister for Syrian Refugees Richard Harrington affirmed Tuesday that there is no plan by his country or the international community to settle the huge numbers of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The United Kingdom, as one of the biggest donors for the refugee-hosting countries, has no plan in this regard and considers the refugees and migrants are temporary guests who should go back home when security is restored to their countries, he said in a statement by the UK embassy.
Harrington, who concluded a visit to Lebanon, had an encounter with a number of Syrian refugees who are heading from the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport to Britain as part of a UK plan to receive 20,000 Syrian refugees in five year.
During his talks with Lebanese officials, he pledged that Britain will continue offering financial assistance for Lebanon to enable the county accommodate the estimated 1.5 million refugees.
He noted that the British aid amounted to 114 million sterling pounds his year.
Lebanese Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Gebran Bassil has recently sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to state opposition to a call attributable to the Secretary-General for naturalization of refugees and migrants in host countries, including Lebanon. (pickup previous) ayb.gb