Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou said on Wednesday that in the coming weeks he will be visiting various countries with an aim to reassess the status of Syria so as to enable deportations or returns of Syrian refugees back to their country.
In statements following a meeting he had with Commander of the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Andreas Charalambides in Larnaka, the Minister said that he was informed about the mission of the Center’s Services adding that there is a high level of preparedness as regards dealing with both man-made and natural crises.
“Equally important is the necessary coordination of the involved Departments or Ministries that are called upon to manage a crisis,” he said.
Ioannou added that the Coordination Center Zenon also falls under the operational control of the Center. Zenon, he said, is called upon to manage approximately 25 projects, thus making the coordination very important.
For the Ministry, he went on to say, the contribution of the Center in the manageme
nt of maritime flows of migrants is equally important.
He noted that while the authorities have managed to reduce and almost eliminate the flow of migrants through the Green Line, unfortunately, he said, after October 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza, there has been a large increase in arrivals by sea.
The role and readiness, he added, of the Center are extremely important in addressing the problem considering how dangerous the boats used by traffickers are. Taking this into account, he added, the readiness of the Center in dealing with possible search and rescue situations is very important.
So far, he pointed out, every time the Center was called to help, it responded perfectly.
Furthermore, he said that in the coming weeks he is planning visits to various countries “in order to promote in a stronger manner our position and goal to reassess the regime of Syria, in an effort to designate some countries as safe, so as to have the prospect of deporting or returning Syrian refugees back to their country.”
Asked
about the number of migrant arrivals by sea, the Minister of the Interior said that the numbers are constantly changing and are much higher than last year. “Unfortunately, after October 7, 2023, arrivals by sea have increased substantially,” he said.
Source: Cyprus News Agency