The number of asylum seekers in Moldova during the last few years has doubled. Most of these are from Ukraine, where a conflict situation is witnessed. The Bureau for Migration and Asylum on June 1 presented a report on the issue in a meeting of the parliamentary commission on national security, defense and public order, IPN reports.

According to the Bureau’s director Olga Poalelungi, the number of accepted asylum applications rose mainly because of the conflict situation in the region. In 2012-2013, most of the refugees in Moldova were from Syria, while in 2014 and 2015 the refugees were mainly from Ukraine.

Olga Poalelungi said there are now about 2,000 refugees from Syria, 2,000 from Ukraine and about 4,000 from Turkey. “These persons, if conflicts appear in their countries of origin, can anytime seek asylum in the Republic of Moldova. That’s why we are very attentive, including to the policies concerning the stay of foreigners on Moldova’s territory and integration aspects,” she stated.

She added that unlike the EU, where 80-90% of the migrants are young people able to work, in Moldova about 40% of the total number of asylum seekers are elderly people, women and children.