Alwaght- Russian President Vladimir Putin says Western policies in the Middle East (Western Asia) and North Africa have caused the current refugee crisis in the European Union.
“I think the crisis was absolutely expected,” President Vladimir Putin told journalists at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
“We in Russia, and me personally a few years ago, said it straight that pervasive problems would emerge, if our so-called Western partners continue maintaining their flawed ... foreign policy, especially in the regions of the Muslim world, Middle East (Western Asia), North Africa, which they pursue to date,” said Putin.
According to the Russian president, the main error of Western foreign policy is the imposition of their own standards worldwide without taking into account the historical, religious, national and cultural characteristics of particular regions.
The only way to reverse the refugee flow streaming into Europe is to help people resolve problems at home. He added that the first step should be by creating a common and united front against terrorists groups such as ISIS and fighting them at their core.
Putin noted that the US is not facing a refugee crisis of the same magnitude as the EU, which has been “blindly following American orders.”
A photograph of the body of 2 year old Aylan Kurdi , a toddler belonging to a Syrian refugee,in a bright red T-shirt and shorts, face-down in the surf, appeared in newspapers around the world, prompting sympathy and outrage at the perceived inaction of developed nations in helping refugees.
Aylan's body arrived in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Friday. From there, it made its final trip home to Kobani, the Syrian city his family left to escape the daily barrage of attacks by foreign-backed ISIS terrorists.
The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 240,000 lives up until now.
The violence has also forced over four million Syrians to take refuge in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon. More than 7.2 million others have been displaced internally, according to UN figures.
Syria blames western countries led by the US and their regional allies including the Israeli regime, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for being the main backers of terrorists fighting to topple the country’s legitimate government.