Lebanon on Friday discussed with the permanent members of the UN Security Council on the possibility of setting up refugee camps for displaced Syrians along its borders with Syria, according to Lebanese Foreign Ministry. But such a possibility was later rejected by Syria.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil met with ambassadors of the five permanent member states on Friday to discuss setting up the refugee camps along the borders.
But the camp idea was later rejected by Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali during his talks with Bassil.
The Syrian ambassador said that Syria was against setting up camps for the displaced Syrians, as they would be "able to go back to their homeland." He added that "Syria is a big country that can apprehend its entire people," and that "Syria is the wide home that can provide the Syrians with all his or her needs."
According to the UN Higher Commission for Refugees, Lebanon now hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees. The World Bank estimates that the direct losses inflicted by the Syrian refugee issue on Lebanon's economy have amounted to about 7.5 billion U.S. dollars.