Germany's Merkel says Syria must be more secure before refugees return
BEIRUT - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday on a visit to Lebanon that conditions in Syria are not yet right for refugees to return, an issue which has led to a dispute between Lebanon's foreign minister and the UN refugee agency.
The United Nations has registered about a million refugees in Lebanon - nearly a quarter of Lebanon's population. The Lebanese government, which puts the figure at 1.5 million, says it wants them to start going back to territory where fighting is over.
The international view is that it would not be safe for them to return yet.
"We want to help find solutions in Syria so that a return of refugees can take place ... we need more secure conditions for a return to be possible," Merkel said in a news conference in Beirut with Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri.
