European Parliament: Cyprus's efforts to declare Syria "safe" are difficult to achieve

ARK News… Fabian Keller, a member of the European Parliament, on Thursday, said that Cyprus’ efforts to declare parts of Syria as safe are “difficult to achieve,” due to the unstable situation in the country.

Keller added that those returning to Syria will face challenges and difficult living conditions.

She called on European countries to find a solution to the problem of the influx of asylum seekers towards Cyprus, instead of declaring areas in Syria “safe” and returning refugees to them.

Cyprus is intensifying pressure on the European Union to declare “safe zones” in Syria, to return Syrian refugees in Europe to them, and to stop the continuous flow of refugees.

Cyprus says the European Union already has an assessment from its migration agency, EUAA, that the Damascus and Tartous governorates in Syria “do not pose a real risk to civilians of falling victim to indiscriminate violence.”

But international human rights bodies warn of the dangers to which Syrian refugees are exposed after their return to their country.

Several days ago, the Cypriot Coast Guard arrested 300 migrants holding Syrian nationality, approximately 50 nautical miles from Cyprus, after they left the Lebanese coast.

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