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Refugee Crisis Requires Russia, US and Peace in the Middle East: Czech PM

© Sputnik / Dmitriy Vinogradov / Go to the mediabankA damaged residential building in the Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus
A damaged residential building in the Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus - Sputnik International
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Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said that the inclusion of Russia and the US is vital to solving the Syrian crisis and stopping the flow of refugees from the Middle East, who he fears have led to 'excessive correctness' in European politicians' dealings with the crisis.

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The inclusion of Russia is vital to solving the Syrian crisis, as is that of the US, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Saturday, asserting that the way to ultimately solve the problem of Syrian refugees in Europe is to solve the political crisis in Syria, and to eliminate general political instability in the Middle East and Africa.

"I think Russia has to be included to resolve the problems in Syria, and there must be communication with Russia over the crisis, regardless of the sanctions were put in place because of Ukraine," said Sobotka, who added that the involvement of the US is also necessary, in order to stop the flow of refugees fleeing their homes in Syria.

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"The US must also be included in the resolution of the Syrian situation. Europe today has a vital interest in seeing the war in Syria stopped. Otherwise we will never stop the flow of migration," declared Sobotka, in the interview with Czech news website Novinky.cz.

The Czech premier, who took office in January 2014, cautioned that he fears Europe is falling afoul of an "excessive correctness," in its dealing with the situation, which can be traced back to foreign policy mistakes.

"Some countries have a bad conscience when it comes to Libya, Syria, when in the past they did everything they could to topple Assad, with the result that Assad is still there, but now half of the country is under the control of the Islamic State, and millions of Syrians have nowhere to return to."

Discussions about migrant quotas, said Sobotka, are just a distraction, and "can never work."

"We want to return the debate to the causes of the crisis, not waste time on discussions about quotas, which is just a comforter, and being offered as such by some countries to their citizens."

"We have to concentrate on doing what is necessary to stabilize the Middle East and North Africa," declared the Prime Minister.

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