MOSCOW, 12 November (BelTA) - Refugees on the Belarusian-Polish border have become hostages of the welcoming policy of the EU countries, Professor of the State University of Management Vladimir Volokh, a member of the Commission on Migration and Socio-Cultural Adaptation of Foreign Citizens at the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, said at a roundtable held in Moscow to discuss the refugee crisis at the border, BelTA has learned.
"People have become hostages of this situation: they believed the welcoming statements previously made by a number of European Union states that declared their readiness to accept migrants and provide assistance," Vladimir Volokh said. "Many citizens, who are now stranded in Belarus, have come from Syria, Afghanistan and other states. They have either acquaintances or relatives in the EU states, and they, of course, seek to get into the EU."
The efforts of the European Union and international organizations should be aimed at providing assistance to those who are currently on the Belarusian-Polish border. "The European states need to show goodwill and assist them and let through some of them, which, of course, is very problematic," he said.
Vladimir Volokh believes that it is necessary to address the authorities of the countries of origin of these migrants, and probably “to try to convince them to return home whenever it is possible”.
“Yet, the most important thing is to normalize the situation in those states where these people came from. If peace and order return to these states, their citizens will not need to seek international protection in other countries,” Vladimir Volokh said.
