“This is not just a crisis, but the most serious war of our times," Mogherini told a Monday news conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
She also said a political solution to the Syrian conflict is the key to overcoming ISIS.
"We had today most of our time dedicated to working on a political solution to the Syria conflict which would also be the best possible way of providing the conditions to defeat ISIS,” the EU’s top diplomat noted.
Mogherini further called on EU member states to "unite forces, share information, share a political agenda, put together all of our diplomatic, economic -- sometimes also military efforts" to counter the threat of ISIS.
She also warned against any confusion between the issue of refugees and threats posed by terrorists, saying the asylum seekers are fleeing the same dangers that Europe is facing now
“We have a duty to protect those in need of protection that are escaping from the very same threat that we are facing in Europe today," she stressed.
Europe is facing record refugee arrivals. Thousands of asylum seekers, many of whom from war-ravaged Syria, travel from Turkey to Greece by boat. They then transit from Greece through Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia to Austria with the ultimate goal of reaching Germany and other wealthy Western European states.
According to the latest figures released by the International Organization for Migration, 773,244 refugees have reached Europe’s shores so far this year while a total of 3,423 people have either died or gone missing in their perilous journey to the continent.
Some European leaders have called for an end to the flow of refugees from the Middle East and Africa following a recent wave of terror attacks in Paris, claiming that the extremists could enter Europe among the masses.
The calls came after a Syrian passport was discovered near the body of one of the bombers of Friday’s attacks in Paris. The bomber reportedly arrived in Greece in October as a refugee.
At least 129 people were killed and 350 others injured after assailants struck several different venues in Paris. ISIS terror group claimed responsibility for the attacks; Press TV reported.
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