MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — Violent anti-immigrant protests held in Germany over the weekend do not reflect the general mood of Europeans, who tend to welcome refugees and asylum seekers, the head of the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) media and communication division told Sputnik Monday.
"I wouldn’t confuse some nasty people rioting with the majority of Europeans. Europeans tend to be pretty humanitarian, pretty open," Leonard Doyle said.
"I don’t think it says a lot about the situation, by and large the general population has been extraordinarily welcoming," Doyle said.
Last week, the German Interior Ministry said it expected 800,000 asylum seekers and refugees to arrive in the country by the end of the year, three times as many as in 2014.
A huge influx of refugees has prompted broad public debate in Germany. Municipalities say they do not have the resources to accommodate them and far-right extremists have been known to target refugee shelters.
