Greek Minister of Immigration and Asylum Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos addressed recent changes in Syria and their impact on asylum requests during an interview. He indicated that due to the current situation, Syrian citizens can no longer claim asylum based on persecution from the Assad regime. The minister announced a temporary freeze on processing asylum requests from Syrians as several European countries follow suit, pending further evaluation of developments. He also highlighted the potential for voluntary returns of Syrians and the implications for European-Turkish relations.