Slovenia keeps processing Syrian asylum requests, seeks EU-wide approach

Ljubljana, Dec 12 (IANS) Slovenia is continuing to process asylum requests of Syrian citizens regardless of the fall of the Assad regime, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon told the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee earlier on Tuesday that the key goal regarding Syrian asylum requests is "to protect civilians," Xinhua news agency reported.

She added that "the last thing we want is secondary migration of Syrian applicants because of tougher rhetoric in individual (EU) member states" and called for a uniform approach of the European Union (EU) member states regarding Syrian refugees.

The Interior Ministry said interior ministers of Slovenia and of its neighbours, Croatia and Italy, discussed the changes in Syria over the phone on Tuesday and agreed to continue their discussion on the sidelines of the Brussels meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Thursday.

"We are not stopping the processing of asylum requests but we will reassess the changed conditions and new facts in procedures with the citizens of Syria which could influence the duration of the procedures," the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry added that the police have strengthened control of the Slovenian borders with Croatia and Hungary in order to prevent terrorism and illegal migration that could be linked to developments in Syria.

Fajon said that Slovenia has not received many asylum requests from Syrian citizens over the past years, granting asylum to some 30 Syrians last year and to 15 in 2022.

She urged an inclusive and stable transition in Syria, saying: "Syria is at an important crossroads, peace or war, freedom or lawlessness, prosperity or poverty, and its future will depend mainly upon the conditions of this political transition."

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