EU snubs Russia-backed conference on Syria refugee returns

 The European Union on Tuesday announced that it will not take part in an international conference this week on the return of refugees to Syria, insisting that the first priority should be to make it safe for people to go back to the conflict-ravaged country.

The two-day conference, organized by Russia and set to begin on Wednesday, has been criticized by U.N. and U.S. officials. President Vladimir Putin said Monday that large parts of Syria are relatively peaceful and that it’s time for the millions who fled to go home and help rebuild.

But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the conference is premature.

“The EU and its member states will not attend this conference,” he said in a statement. He said the 27-nation bloc believes “that the priority at present is real action to create conditions for safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their areas of origin.”

Syria’s nine-year conflict has killed about half a million people, wounded more than a million and forced about 5.6 million to flee abroad as refugees, mostly to neighboring countries. Another 6 million of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million are internally displaced.

A U.N-facilitated political process has been stuck for months, and many Western countries blame Damascus for blocking progress. Many Syrians and Western countries see current conditions in Syria as not ripe for the mass return of refugees.

Borrell agreed, saying that no one should be forced to go back. “Conditions inside Syria at present do not lend themselves to the promotion of large-scale voluntary return, in conditions of safety and dignity in line with international law.”

He said many obstacles still hinder any safe returns, “in particular forced conscription, indiscriminate detention, forced disappearances, torture, physical and sexual violence, discrimination in access to housing, land and property as well as poor or inexistent basic services.”