Argentina and the United Nations' refugee agency have discussed "resettlement opportunities" in the face of the refugee crisis unleashed in Eastern Europe by the war in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
During a meeting between the head of the Foreign Ministry's Cabinet, Luciana Tito, and the South American representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Juan Carlos Murillo, the two parties "sought to identify available programmes and resources to provide an immediate response to the demand for humanitarian assistance that Argentina could receive."
The text recalls that Argentina's government has worked previously with the UNHCR in "resettlement and humanitarian visa programmes under the modalities of community sponsorship and solidarity cities and provinces."
Argentina has now joined "the search for resettlement opportunities and complementary channels of admission for Ukrainian nationals in need of international protection," read a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
Over 2.8 million refugees have fled since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, with Poland receiving more than half. Romania and Moldova are the other two main destinations.
Argentina said last Friday that humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees would be sent to Poland next week.
On Wednesday, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi welcomed the "exemplary" reception by the three Eastern European nations, which "for the moment" are coping with the arrival of refugees.
He stressed that "many arrive by car and, above all, they have connections, they can go where they have family, friends." But Grandi warned that "if the war continues ... we will start to see people without resources or connections," which "will be a more difficult problem for European countries to manage" on their own.
– TIMES/AFP
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