Pope Francis, who is on a visit to Cyprus next week, plans to return a number of migrants to Rome, Cypriot officials said on Friday.
Expected on the Mediterranean island from December 2 to 4, the Sovereign Pontiff wants to organize a trip allowing migrants whose number has not been specified to reach Rome, Cypriot government spokesman Marios told reporters. Pelekanos.
In 2013, the Pope brought back to Rome three Syrian families from Lesbos (Greece), the main point of entry for migrants into Europe.
He will return to the Greek island in early December, following his visit to Cyprus.
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This gesture also confirms "
that the Vatican recognizes the problem facing the Republic of Cyprus today, due to the increase in migratory flows
," added Marios Pelekanos. The latter reiterated Cyprus' call for "
a more equitable distribution (of migrants) among EU member states, in order to alleviate the problem in frontline countries
". Cyprus claims to be facing a "
migration crisis
" and seeks to suspend asylum applications from people entering its territory illegally. According to the government, the Republic of Cyprus has the highest number of first asylum applications of the 27 EU members compared to its population of almost one million.
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Cyprus accuses Turkey of orchestrating the crisis by allowing illegal migrants to cross from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Since the invasion of northern Cyprus by the Turkish army in 1974 in reaction to a coup d'état by Greek-Cypriot nationalists who wanted to reunite the island with Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the EU since 2004 , is divided into two.
The Cypriot government exercises its authority only over the southern part.
The northern part was self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983, and its authorities are recognized only by Ankara.