• Tweeter

  • republish

Movement of Turkish troops to the Syrian border, October 8, 2019. BULENT KILIC / AFP

Meeting on Tuesday 8 October 2019 in Luxembourg, several European leaders were worried about a new influx of migrants due to the situation in Syria. Turkey threatens to launch a new military operation.

Three European countries are very worried about the situation on the border between Turkey and Syria. In a joint text sent to the European Union's interior ministers, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria highlighted " the dramatic rise in arrivals of migrants on the eastern Mediterranean route ", seeing the " alarming signs of emergence of a crisis ".

" We are very worried "

" The geopolitical factors, especially the conflicts in the region especially in Syria, will most likely result in a continuation of this worrying trend in the short or medium term ", say the three countries, who asked for more support for their European partners . " We are very worried, " Georges Koumoutsakos, Deputy Greek Minister for Citizen Protection, told reporters.

Turkey, which has said it is ready to launch a new offensive against a Kurdish militia, on Tuesday sent armored vehicles to its border with Syria. Eventually, Ankara intends to create a " security zone ", a sort of buffer 30 km deep, stretching from the Euphrates to the Iraqi border, which would accommodate some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

A new migratory " push " towards Europe?

" I hope there will be no operation, " Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, also in charge of Immigration, told reporters. " But imagine that you are a refugee in Turkey, you are Syrian, the risk is that you will be transported one day without being asked for your opinion in the north-east of Syria, it is a factor that can generate a thrust to Europe, "he said.

Asked about this scenario at a press conference, EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos stressed that the EU is committed to " the territorial integrity of the Syrian state ". The EU calls for " the end of hostilities, the protection of civilians and unhindered, safe and sustainable humanitarian access to all Syria ", he also stressed.

( with AFP )

► READ ALSO : Syria, under pressure from its own side, Trump warns Turkey