The G20 conference has begun with a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks in Paris
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
World leaders attending the G20 meeting in Turkey to discuss the refugee crisis on European security held a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorists attacks in Paris that left 129 dead and hundreds injured.
The ISIS-coordinate gun attacks and suicide bombings on Friday took place at multiple venues as seven extremists open fired at the Betaclan concert hall, open fired at restaurants and bars and detonated suicide vests near the Stade de France where a friendly game between France and Germany was taking place. For this reason, French President Francois Hollande was the only leader absent from the G20 summit on Sunday, choosing instead to oversee heightened security operations in Paris.
In the aftermath of the Paris killings, the G20 discussed the threat of ISIS infiltrators coming into the EU disguised as Syrian refugees after it was found that at least one of the attackers carried a Syrian passport flagged as arriving in Greece on a typical refugee route.
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker had said that different categories of people coming to Europe should not be mixed. “The one responsible for the attacks in Paris is a criminal and not a refugee and not an asylum seeker,” he said. “I would invite those in Europe who try to change the migration agenda we have adopted – I would like to remind them to be serious about this and not to give in to these basic reactions that I do not like.I see the difficulty but I don’t see the need to change our general approach.”
The refugee crisis is part of a discussion on solving the conflict in Syria, an issue that is bound to cause discord at the summit. Some leaders feel the solution is stricter border controls while others, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are sensitive to Schengen arrangements. A number of G20 countries want Turks to make a greater effort to close the border with Syria, but Turkey wants more financial aid to house the refugees.
UK PM David Cameron is making a case for more refugees to be given opportunities at semi-permanent camps at the border of Syria to discourage them from making the dangerous crossing from Turkey to the EU.
It is believed that as many as 3 million refugees will arrive next year if there is no end to the Syrian civil war.
The G20 meeting is also addressing terrorism and migration.