MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. The Russian Security Council discussed new challenges to national security in connection with the worsening global migration crisis at a meeting on Wednesday, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said.
"The Russian Security Council discussed new challenges and threats to national security in the conditions of aggravation of the global migration crisis caused by serious geopolitical and economic changes in the world," Patrushev said.
He added that at the moment, according to UN estimates, there were over 280 million migrants in the world. "Every year this figure is increasing significantly. Twenty years ago, the number was 100 million less," the security chief pointed out.
"The destructive actions of the US and its allies, who incite military and ethnic conflicts, their unceremonious interference in the domestic affairs of independent states provoked a multi-million refugee flow from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and other countries," Patrushev pointed out, noting that due to the growing terrorist threat, 28 million refugees from Africa and the Middle East alone arrived in Europe and Asia last year.
The Security Council Secretary explained that people were forced to change their place of residence due to, among other things, consequences of restrictive measures in the economy. "Unlawful unilateral Western sanctions have led to a significant decline in living standards in a number of countries and reduced access to basic necessities, including food and medicines. We can assume that the energy crisis in Europe caused by Western sanctions will contribute to a new wave of migration," he concluded.