MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Brazil is welcoming the refugees from the Middle East and North Africa with "open arms" amid the migrant crisis, President Dilma Rousseff said in a speech.
"I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the position of our government in receiving individuals who have been expelled from their respective countries," Rousseff said in a televised address Monday, as quoted by the TeleSUR television network.
According to the media outlet, Brazil has welcomed over 1,700 Syrian refugees since 2013, which is more than any other country in the region.
The world is currently struggling with an unprecedented migrant crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people attempting to flee conflict torn regions of the Middle East and North Africa.
Many countries, including the European Union states and Australia, pledged to take in more refugees from Syria, mired in civil war since 2011.
