Moscow concerned with EU-Turkish agreement to return migrants

Russian Politics & Diplomacy March 11, 2016, 17:56

We are calling on our European colleagues to show a more responsible approach to the international commitments in this sphere, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said

MOSCOW, March 11 /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry is concerned with EU-Turkish agreements on collective return of migrants from the European Union, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

"The recent agreements on collective return of migrants from the European Union without any clear guarantees to ensure their protection in line with international law are a source of serious concern. We are calling on our European colleagues to show a more responsible approach to the international commitments in this sphere," Zakharova told a briefing.

She said the European countries had been inefficient in resolving the migrant problem. "We believe the European countries’ efforts to overcome the migrant crisis have been ineffective because they are lacking a common coordinated approach to the problem. Such state of things is affecting the migrants and refugees whose rights are often being seriously violated," the Russian diplomat stressed.

"We agree that the EU migration problems are not unique. Other countries are receiving many more migrants even without having the EU’s opportunities," Zakharova added.

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