Situation in Syria requires no emergency actions from Russia: FM

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-1-23 19:08:30

The situation in Syria does not require emergency actions from Russia, the country's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

There are hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens, mostly women living in Syria. "They were informed that if they desire to leave Syria, we could bring them home," the foreign minister told reporters during his annual press conference.

Noting that so far less than 100 people have used that opportunity, he said the Russian Embassy in Damascus is working in full swing.

Earlier on Wednesday, two Russian planes landed in Moscow's Domodedovo airport, carrying a total of 77 Russian nationals, mostly women and children, from the Lebanese capital of Beirut who had fled Syria by land, the country's Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The operation was arranged under the request by Russian citizens who wished to leave Syria, the ministry said, stressing it was not an evacuation.

About 8,000 Russian citizens have been registered in Russia's embassy in Syria. In addition, some 25,000 non-registered Russians are living in the war-torn country, according to the embassy.



Posted in: Mid-East

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