MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union is concerned by an upsurge in the number of Russians applying for asylum in Europe, the bloc’s envoy to Russia said Wednesday.
“Their number has almost quadrupled in the second quarter of 2013 as compared with the same period last year,” EU Ambassador to Russia Vygaudas Usackas said.
He said that more than 23,000 Russians requested asylum in Europe last year, becoming the third largest group of asylum seekers after residents of Afghanistan and Syria.
