Syria crisis: China calls for political solution to speed refugees' return

Beirut: China’s Foreign Minister is calling for a political solution to end Syria’s six-year crisis saying that once the country’s security conditions begin to improve refugees will start returning to their country. [caption id=“attachment_3708369” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi made his comments in Beirut during a news conference on Friday with his Lebanese counterpart Gibran Bassil. Some 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled their country’s conflict are believed to be living in Lebanon, equal to about a third of the Mediterranean country’s population of 4.5 million people. Bassil described the presence of refugees as an “existential threat” to Lebanon calling for a swift return of refugees to their country. Wang said that China has given Beirut aid in the past “and we will continue to give such assistance to Lebanon in accordance with Lebanon’s needs.”