WARSAW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, a van hit pedestrians in the center of Barcelona, killing over a dozen and injuring over 130 others. The responsibility for the van attack in Barcelona was reportedly claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia). A day later, two people were killed and eight others injured in a knife attack in Turku, Finland. The key suspect in the Turku attack is an 18-year-old Moroccan citizen, who arrived in Finland last year and was trying to get asylum.
"We are persuaded by the example of the latest terror attacks, which are taking place where there is a large concentration of Muslims who are very poorly integrated — and in Catalonia [there are] about half a million Muslims — this is the natural habitat for terrorists," Soloch said in a speech aired by the local broadcaster.
The official noted that Poland's refusal to accept migrants under the EU quota should not be interpreted as the country's unwillingness to participate in counterterrorism efforts.
In order to resolve the issue of terrorism, attributed to the massive influx of migrants and refugees from Muslim countries, the European Union has to create effective measures which do not entail the resettling of refugees across the continent, according to the Polish official.
"We have to find a solution together, which will allow us to avoid such a phenomenon, however this responsibility should not be a compulsory, forced and artificial resettlement of refuges on our territory," Soloch underlined.
The European Union has been struggling to manage a massive refugee crisis which escalated in 2015. The mandatory EU scheme was established in 2015 in order to relocate some refugees. Poland was expected to accept some 7,000 refugees under the scheme.
However, the Polish government openly declined to participate in the EU migrant relocation scheme, strongly criticizing the initiative.
