EU shuns Russian-backed refugee talks

The European Union will not take part in a Russian-backed conference organised by Syria’s President Bashar al Assad to promote the return of refugees, the EU’s top diplomat said on Tuesday. More than half of Syria’s population have fled their homes since civil war erupted in 2011, and some 5.5 million are sheltering abroad, mainly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. But Assad’s forces now hold 70 per cent of the country and he wants to hold a two-day conference in Damascus from Wednesday on bringing Syrians home. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has backed the idea.