Borrell: EU Countries Won't Attend Damascus Conference on Refugees

On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) said that it will not take part in a 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, according to the EU's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

In a statement, Borrell criticized the two-day conference, organized by the Syrian Bashar Assad regime in Damascus and set to begin on Wednesday, saying that it is premature.

"A number of EU member states' foreign ministers and the High Representative have received an invitation to a conference on the theme of refugee returns, on 11-12 November, in Damascus. The EU and its member states will not attend this conference," Borrell added.

He said that 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 war has claimed 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.