site.btaForeign Minister Mitov: "Everybody Are Clear that It Will Come to Ground Operation against ISIL"

Foreign Minister Mitov: "Everybody Are Clear that It Will Come to Ground Operation against ISIL"

Brussels, November 16 (BTA Correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - "Everybody are clear that it will come to an intervention by land forces at some point, Islamic State cannot be eradicated without such intervention," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov told Bulgarian journalists here on Monday.

In his words, the point is where this intervention should come from and how it should be organized, because everybody realize the need of a broader coalition and that the countries in the region, aided by the European and trans-Atlantic community, should solve this problem with united efforts. According to Bulgaria's chief diplomat, a consensus is needed which should not create the feeling of a new Western intervention breeding chaos without solving anything and leading to new divisions.

"Ever more EU Member States are turning to what Bulgaria has long been proposing: re-establishing external border controls in a most rigorous manner," Mitov said, referring to the discussions at Monday's EU Foreign Affairs Council.

He described the agreement between the EU and Turkey as being of key importance about the migration issue but argued that the talks with Ankara should not be limited to measures in this area because Turkey plays a significant part in the energy sector as well. The Foreign Minister added that the EU will not make concessions in the negotiations on a liberalization of visa requirements for Turkey.

"Europe must clearly say what number of refugees it can accommodate, drawing a distinction between them and economic immigrants. Discussing relocation quotas is already absurd, we can't cope with the problem in this way," Mitov commented. In his words, work on programmes for repatriation of those who do not qualify for refugee status in the EU must start urgently. In his words, Europe is indebted to refugees but not to those who do not qualify as such.