Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil stressed on Friday that setting up camps for Syrian refugees on the border between the two countries is a pure Lebanese issue.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil stressed on Friday that setting up camps for Syrian refugees on the border between the two countries is a pure Lebanese issue.

Talking during a press conference tackling the situation of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon , Bassil said that Lebanon cannot be compared with any other country in this issue.

“Turkey receives 1.2% of the displaced Syrians, Iraq 1.8%, Jordan 18%, while in Lebanon there are more than 35% of Syrian refugees, other than the unregistered people.”

“Lebanon cannot be compared with any other country, even in demographic terms, as the population in Lebanon is calculated as 370 per km2 without the addition of 150 Syrians."

The Lebanese FM said that the number of Syrian refugees has increased in both the educational and medical sectors, noting that “one of the largest hospitals in Beirut recorded that the birth rate of the Syrians is more than that of the Lebanese.”

“Repeated birth by the same person does not count as displacement," the Minister clarified.

"Lebanon pays monthly about 35 million dollars to draw electricity from Syria, while it provides free electricity for refugees worth 100 million dollars," asking "why is this displacement still ongoing in light of the lowering battles intensity?"

As he said that the Lebanese government must encourage the refugees to go back to their country, noting that 42% of them came from safe areas (in Syria).

Bassil also suggested exempting Syrians from all costs in return for them leaving Lebanon.

"Camps could be established in buffer zones, specifically after Al-Masnaa point, and this decision is pure Lebanese, not subject to any influence by International organizations or Syria," the Lebanese FM stressed, refusing to set up camps for Syrian refugees and legitimize them inside the Lebanese territory.