MOSCOW, Russian Federation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lashed out at the European Union over its handling of ongoing refugee crisis in the continent.
In a Tuesday meeting in Moscow with Kristalina Georgieva, the vice president for budget and human resources of the European Commission, and a group of UN experts on financing humanitarian operations for refugees, Lavrov said the EU’s “mechanical approach” of throwing money at the refugee issue will be no solution.
“There is a temptation to simply sit back and watch how much money is needed and make recommendations so that the government allots additional funds, and I’ve even heard that someone has even suggested making this mandatory,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov’s remarks come as Europe is facing an unprecedented refugee crisis, which has escalated over the summer. Refugees are coming directly to Europe instead of staying in camps in neighboring countries.
The continent is now divided over how to deal with a flood of people, mainly Syrians fleeing war in their homeland.
The EU is to call a special meeting in two weeks to discuss a record surge in numbers and the opening up of new routes over the Balkans in addition to the Mediterranean Sea route.
Lavrov also hinted that the European bloc is guilty for fueling conflicts that have triggered the mass Immigration, saying, “Justice certainly requires that those countries that bear responsibility for unleashing the conflicts should take on great responsibility as well for providing humanitarian help to the victims.”
On September 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western countries’ “flawed” foreign policy is to blame for Europe’s refugee crisis.
According to UN estimates, so far this year 300,000 people have left the Middle East and Africa for a better life in Europe, particularly Germany.
The world body figures show that in 2015 alone, about 2,600 migrants lost their lives by taking the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to EU shores in smuggler boats. Most of the refugees are fleeing hardships inflicted on them and their families in conflicts, blamed by many on the US-led military interventions in countries like Iraq, Libya, and Syria.
Credit: PressTV
