Following recent reports that Turkey has opened the border for refugees from Syria, and that there have already been clashes with refugees on the Turkish-Greek border, Macedonian Defense and Interior Ministries say they are ready to face the challenges of a new refugee crisis.
The Ministry of Defense responded to the question of MKD.mk that the state has an established refugee crisis management system that is ready and functional to respond to any challenges that they would face as a transit country.
“The Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia in December 2019 continued the crisis situation on the southern border, and in accordance with this decision, the Ministry of Defense, i.e. the Army gives its support to the Ministry of Interior as responsible for securing the state border. The government is monitoring the situation and is in constant communication with NATO and EU partners. The Minister of Defense will also be in coordination with colleagues in the region on this issue. The Ministry of Defense and the Army are in close and continuous coordination with other relevant institutions on this issue,” the MoD said.
Police also say that on both borders, south and north, border guards are closely monitoring the situation in cooperation with members of the army and police in other countries due to the situation in northern Syria and recent developments in Turkey and the potential danger of a new one wave of refugees from Syria.
Interior Minister Nake Culev said yesterday that “we are closely following the situation. If need arises, even now we are very well prepared, both in terms of equipment and human resources, so as to prevent flow of a new wave of migrants”.
