We are saddened to see that necessary measures are not taken in terms of the illegal passing of third country citizens to our allies Poland, Lithuania and Latvia through Belarus soils and they are left in harsh conditions on border regions.

This multidimensional issue may wear down the international protection system which originates from the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees on its 70th year commemoration.

Hosting the highest number of refugees for the last 10 years, Turkey gives full support to its allies, as a country which understands the challenges Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have been exposed to.

On the other hand, we refuse to be portrayed as part of a problem which Turkey is not a party to. Furthermore, we find it to be intentional that a globally prominent company like Turkish Airlines, is targeted even though information on this issue is shared transparently.

Turkey emphasizes the importance of taking the necessary steps for the fight against irregular migration and human trafficking on every occasion and calls for the international community to be responsible and sensible towards this issue. We hope that concerned parties solve this issue in moderation and we, as Turkey, emphasize that we are ready to give all necessary support in order to overcome this issue.