Bulgarian, Cypriot presidents call for sustainable solution to refugee crisis

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades said here on Monday the European Union (EU) should find a common and sustainable solution to the refugee crisis.

The unprecedented migration pressure on Europe's borders is a common problem, and the EU must look for a common and sustainable solution to the crisis in Syria, Plevneliev said at a joint press conference.

Migration problem cannot be solved without addressing it in the place where it originated and was created, he said.

The EU can deal with the migration crisis only through a common European approach, and migration crisis cannot be solved by any one country alone, Plevneliev said. "Such a solution simply does not exist," he added.

Anastasiades echoed that migration problem can be solved with joint efforts, and these efforts should be focused on the countries of origin that create this problem.

If the problem is not addressed at its root, it can pose a threat to even the unity of the EU, Anastasiades said.

However, Anastasiades believed the EU lacked solidarity and respect to the decisions taken.

Countries that play a significant role in the interruption of the migration flow, have to implement what has been decided within the EU, he said.

Meanwhile, in the presence of the two presidents, representatives of the two countries signed agreements on enhancing cooperation in energy, agriculture and tourism.

The trade and economic relations between Bulgaria and Cyprus had an ascending trend despite the record number of crises around the world, Plevneliev said.

Preliminary data for 2015 show a year-on-year increase of 81 percent in bilateral trade, and Cyprus is the sixth largest investor in Bulgaria, according to Plevneliev. Endit