Moscow Ready to Cooperate With EU States on Migration Crisis

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia is ready for a full-fledged cooperation with the European Union member states on the issue of overcoming the consequences and addressing the situation of undocumented migration in Europe.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia is ready to cooperate with the EU member states to overcome the consequences of the undocumented migration, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

"We are ready for a full-fledged cooperation with the interested countries, primarily, of course, we are talking about the European Union member states, on the issue of overcoming the consequences and addressing the situation of undocumented migration in Europe," she told reporters.

The European Union is struggling to cope with an unprecedented influx of migrants, fleeing conflict-torn and poverty-stricken countries in the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as some South Asian nations.

In recent weeks, thousands of refugees have entered such states as Italy, Greece, Macedonia and Hungary, many of whom hope to travel onward to other, sometimes wealthier European countries.

According to Frontex, the EU border agency, more than 340,000 migrants have arrived in the European bloc since the beginning of 2015.