site.bta"Iraq Crisis Threatens EU Security," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mitov Tells EU Foreign Affairs Council

Brussels/Sofia, August 15 (BTA) - "The crisis in Iraq is going beyond the humanitarian dimension and directly threatens the security of the EU external borders, including Bulgaria, by its high refugee potential," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov told an emergency meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council here on Friday, the first one in which he participated since his appointment.

On the agenda of the meeting was the deepening humanitarian crisis in Iraq, the escalating violence in Libya and the negative impact of developments in Ukraine and the Middle East, with an emphasis on the Gaza Strip, Mitov's Ministry said in a press release.

The extraordinary Council defined Russia's unilateral actions as a gross violation of international law. In his statement, Foreign Minister Mitov stressed that Russia is responsible for what is going on in Eastern Ukraine, but Kiev should coordinate the sanctions it is launching against Moscow with the EU because they may have negative consequences for Member States.