Russia, Syria Point Out Contradictory US Stance on Refugees From Rukban Camp

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States is contradicting itself with its stance about the return of refugees from Syria's Rukban camp on the Jordanian border and has put forward conditions for the return of people residing there, the heads of the Russian and Syrian Joint Coordination Committees on Repatriation of Syrian Refugees said in a statement.

"A representative of the US-led international coalition against ISIS* in Syria Sean Ryan said there are no obstacles to the free movement of Rukban camp refugees. At the same time, the first Secretary of the US Embassy in Amman, Alex Hawke, authorised to discuss the problems of the Rukban camp, has outlined a number of conditions to allow residents of the camp to freely leave its territory", the statement said.

The statement also pointed to the "hypocrisy" of the United States, which claims to be committed to humanitarian values, but at the same time does nothing to implement them.

"Based on the principles of humanism, confirmed not by words, but by concrete actions, we once again call on the world community to open its eyes to the situation in the Rukban camp, not to succumb to US assurances about the care shown to ordinary Syrians, to believe only the facts and real deeds", the statement added.

READ MORE: Russia, Syria Call on US to Disband Rukban Refugee Camp

The Rukban camp is part of the US-controlled zone around Washington's Al-Tanf base in Syria. The World Health Organisation has said that people living in Rukban were trapped there, noting deplorable conditions in the camp.

Russia and Syria have urged the United States to release Rukban's residents and ensure their unimpeded exit from the camp to the places of their permanent residence.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia