Lebanese president to meet Putin in Moscow

Published March 26, 2019

Lebanese President Michel Aoun attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, center right, attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)

Lebanese President Michel Aoun is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to help get Syrian refugees back home.

Aoun arrived in Moscow on Monday and is expected to sit down for talks with Putin at the Kremlin later on Tuesday.

Lebanon has taken in over 1 million refugees from neighboring Syria, which is equivalent of a quarter of Lebanon's population.

Aoun said at a meeting Tuesday with Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Russian parliament, that Lebanon faces "a terrible economic fall-out" from the Syrian crisis and expressed hope that Russia would help his country repatriate the Syrians.

Lebanese politicians are divided over how to handle relations with the Syrian government and repatriation of refugees and look to Moscow to help to mediate that.

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