The Republic of Cyprus’ efforts and cooperation at EU level and with third countries to address the migration issue are continuing, including the organisation by Nicosia of a conference among EU member states, possibly in May, to put pressure on the European Commission to declassify some areas in Syria from dangerous to safe, sources have said, noting that about 10 EU member states agree with Cyprus.
The solution regarding arrivals from Lebanon is to support Lebanon and change the status of Syria, the same sources note while rejecting accusations that there were push backs of boatloads of migrants, adding that “the approach to migration has always been a humanitarian one.”
It was added that for the first time last January, departures, nearly 1,200, outnumbered arrivals (737), while according to the same sources, about 10 EU member states agree with Cyprus on the declassification of Syria, and Nicosia plans to host a conference on the issue, possibly between May 15-18, to lobby the European Commission towar
ds such a decision.
The Czech initiative for a joint mission with Cyprus to Syria to provide evidence (fact finding mission) to designate areas in the country as safe was also noted, while according to the same information, there are ways to discern possible cases of people coming from safe areas and giving false evidence that they are coming from other areas.
Source: Cyprus News Agency