YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) thanked Armenia for providing accommodate to Syrian refugees, says the PACE resolution adopted on January 30. Armenpress reports, citing the PACE official website that the Assembly reiterated its gratitude to the Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese and Iraqi authorities for having taken in an enormous number of refugees, despite all the logistical problems this entails, and thanks the member and non-member States of the Council of Europe which have agreed to accommodate Syrian refugees in order to relieve some of the pressure from Syria’s neighbors. These countries include Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and Switzerland.

The resolution was unanimously adopted by PACE delegates during the winter session, which was also voted for by two deputies of the Armenian parties Mher Shahgeldyan (The Rule of Law) and Levon Zurabyan (Armenian National Congress).

The Assembly invited the member states of the Council of Europe and other states concerned with the situation in Syria to ensure maximum access to their territory and to asylum procedures, provide appropriate reception and ensure that Syrian asylum seekers have access to efficient, swift and fair asylum procedures, avoiding so-called “transit visas”.

The PACE delegates regret that member states have, in general, not adopted general policies on Syrian refugees and that most of them are continuing to assess Syrian asylum applications individually.

“The Assembly notes that the situation in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon is becoming increasingly critical, as the responsibility of taking large numbers of refugees combined with the economic downturn and unemployment are exacerbating existing tensions between the local populations and the refugees,” the resolution said.

Currently about 11,000 Syrian Armenians live in Armenia, who are permanently supported by the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia in apartment and job issues. About 1000 Syrian Armenians applied to the Ministry and were provided with jobs.