Official: Talks With Countries of Origin Key to Tackle European Migration Crisis

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - European countries should refrain from xenophobic rhetoric and instead focus on addressing their migration crisis through a constructive dialogue with the migrants' countries of origin, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) told Sputnik on Monday.

"We must deal with this phenomenon of the refugees and especially migration very cautiously because it is a trend, not just phenomenon. The xenophobic rhetoric is not the best way to deal with it. I think it is important in order to solve the problem to have a dialogue with the countries [of origin] that issue the migrants in order to find the solutions on the place," Pedro Roque said on the sidelines of the Development of Parliamentarism international forum in Moscow.

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The official added that Europe should protect its borders and avoid accepting everyone, but the approach should be found in a dialogue with the native states of migrants.

Europe has been experiencing an acute migration crisis in recent years due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing violence from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa. Hundreds of thousands of migrants are trying to reach Europe using various routes, mostly through the Mediterranean Sea.