AMMAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2018) The return of Syrian refugees from Jordan to their homeland has not begun yet, the process is still at the stage of reviewing Russia's proposals, Jordanian Ambassador to Russia Amjad Odeh Adaileh told Sputnik in an interview.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for the Reception, Allocation and Accommodation of Refugees said that a total of 6,685 Syrian refugees had returned from Lebanon, while 318 refugees have passed via the Nassib checkpoint from Jordan since July 18.
"Russia has come up with ideas related to the return of refugees, but nothing has been implemented on the ground ... We [Jordan], as Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has already said, welcome the voluntary return of Syrian refugees. This is their right and the international community must help them," Adaileh said.
According to the ambassador, Jordan had spent nearly $10 billion on assistance to Syrian refugees since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, with the international community's aid covering only 30 percent of these expenses.
The diplomat noted that "the issue of the refugees' returns requires high-level coordination between the United Nations, the Syrian government, Russia and other international parties."
"The process will not be easy, refugees should return to safe home," Adaileh said.
The ambassador emphasized that Russia played an important and tangible role in the Syrian settlement, not only in the issue of the refugees' returns, but also by its assistance in the fight against Islamic State and Nusra Font terrorist groups (both banned in Russia).
Syria has been torn by civil war since 2011, with the government fighting numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. Russia is assisting the country in returning to peaceful life, being a guarantor of the ceasefire regime and having announced in late July the creation of a refugee center in Syria that will receive, relocate and accommodate civilians returning home.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry's latest estimates, there are more than 1.7 million Syrians in nine countries who had expressed their desire to return to their homes. Jordan is hosting over 668,000 registered Syrian refugees, according to the UN Refugee Agency's data.
