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MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday it is coordinating efforts to help Syrian refugees return home and rebuild the country's infrastructure destroyed by the civil war.
Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said in a conference call that included Russian and Syrian officials that work is underway to rebuild dozens of Syria's power stations, schools and other vital institutions.
In Damascus, Syrian Public Administration Minister Hussein Makhlouf pledged the government would protect refugee property rights and grant returning refugees a year's deferral from military conscription.
"The Syrian government is working to simplify procedures for refugees who return, repair housing and try to create new jobs," Makhlouf said, adding that the authorities were also working to streamline legislation to facilitate refuges return.
He dismissed as hostile "propaganda" claims that some refugees were facing arrests on their return.
Makhlouf called on Western nations to drop their sanctions against Damascus, introduced early in the seven-year conflict, in order to help post-war restoration and encourage the return of the refugees.
Mizintsev said that over 1.2 million of internally displaced Syrians and about 300,000 refugees have returned in the past two and a half years.
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