Cyprus asked European Union executives to relocate a "significant" number of Syrian asylum-seekers given international protection after authorities said the asylum process hit its limits.
Approximately 1,300 Syrians have reached Cyprus by sea since 2019, with one-third arriving in the past three months, according to official data. Additionally, 3,896 have also entered Cyprus via Turkey in the last two years.
"Their numbers have reached such levels that their integration into local communities is realistically unsustainable," the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said.
Cyprus also requested that the EU border agency Frontex help reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey.
Cyprus was not one of the countries included in Turkey's deal five years ago to stop migrants from entering EU nations, the ministry said.
