BEIRUT, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- The best solution for 5 million Syrian refugees in the region is to secure their safe return to homeland, a UN diplomat said on Friday.
"We are very cautious when it comes to Syrian refugees. We do not want to resort to hasty solutions which may lead to negative results," said Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, following his meeting with the Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri.
Grandi was quoted by the National News Agency as saying that the situation in Syria was disastrous and very dangerous in the past few years.
"We are trying to communicate with people to know more about their fears with regard to returning to Syria," he said.
Grandi added that he had discussed with the Syrian government about the legal and financial challenges to the return of Syrian refugees.
"We informed (Lebanese) Prime Minister Hariri and President Michel Aoun about the results of our negotiations," he said.
The UN diplomat vowed to keep on working with Lebanon in this regard while taking into account the strategy that was drafted by Russia for the return of refugees to Syria.
The strategy aims at securing the return of 890,000 refugees from Lebanon to Syria.
More than 1 million Syrian refugees have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon, while the government estimates the true number of Syrians in the country at 1.5 million.
The Lebanese president called upon UNHCR to play a bigger role in facilitating return of refugees to safe areas in Syria.
Aoun cited a study for UNHCR saying that 735,500 Syrian refugees came from areas that turned to be safe now.
Aoun also called upon international organizations to support and help refugees who are returning back home.
"The return of refugees to Syria should not be linked in any way to a political settlement," he said following his meeting with Grandi at Baabda presidential palace.
The Syrian refugees' crisis has been a hot topic in Lebanon.
The flow of Syrian refugees to Lebanon weighed heavily on the country's economy, prompting officials to emphasize the need for their safe return to Syria.
