DAMASCUS (AFP) — Senior US official James Foley on Tuesday held talks in Syria on the growing needs of some 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in the country and praised Damascus for its "generosity."
"We salute Syria, the government and its people for its generosity in welcoming" Iraqis who fled the US-led 2003 war, said Foley, the State Department coordinator for Iraqi refugees.
"We recognise the considerable burdens that are shouldered here by the Syrian government and its people... (and) are appreciative of the cooperation that we have on this issue," he added.
Foley made the remarks after talks with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Meqdad -- the second meeting since last October -- "to assess the needs of the Iraqi's refugees... and the burden that we face."
"It is the conviction of the United States that we have a deep responsibility to... these refugees," said Foley who is on a regional fact-finding mission.
The refugees "have needs and it is our impression that those needs are increasing and that's why I am here in Syria, in the region, to assess the needs and the burden that we face," he told reporters.
His visit to Syria is part of a tour that has already taken him to Turkey and Jordan ahead of stops in Lebanon and Geneva, home of the UN refugee agency.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, some 4.7 million Iraqis have been uprooted since the US-led 2003 invasion, with over two million living in neighbouring states such as Syria and Jordan.
Both Syria and neighbouring Jordan, which is harbouring between 500,000 and 750,000 Iraqi refugees, have repeatedly complained that the influx was stretching out their resources and appealed for international assistance.
Earlier this month Foley said that the US government, which has faced criticism for not doing enough for the refugees, expects to admit 12,000 Iraqis by the end of September.
He said that 1,141 Iraqis with refugee status arrived in the United States in May, bringing their number to 4,742 since October 1, 2007, the start of the US fiscal year.
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