Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday has said he will hold talks in Brussels as he called on Greece to “open the gates” for refugees at Turkey’s border trying to get into Europe, Aljazeera reports.
Barend Leyts, spokesman for European Council President Charles Michel, revealed this via a post on Twitter, in his post he said the Turkish leader will meet Michel and European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen to discuss “migration, security, stability in the region and the crisis in Syria”.
“I will have a meeting with the European Union officials tomorrow (Monday) in Belgium,” Erdogan said during a speech in Istanbul on Sunday.
He added that he would discuss the migration issue after Turkey opened its borders. “I hope I will return from Belgium with different outcomes.”
Turkey repeatedly rails against what it describes as unfair burden-sharing, since around four million mostly Syrian refugees live in Turkey.
Erdogan further urged Greece to open its border after clashes in recent days between migrants and the Greek police.
“Hey, Greece! I appeal to you … open the gates as well and be free of this burden,” he said, adding: “Let them go to other European countries.”
Thousands of migrants massed on the land border with Greece after Turkey last month said it would no longer prevent people from leaving the country.
Turkey’s decision set off an escalating dispute between Ankara and Brussels, as well as a war of words between Turkey and Greece.
But Erdogan, on Friday, ordered the Turkish coastguard to prevent risky Aegean sea crossings after more than 1,700 migrants landed on Lesbos and four other Aegean islands from Turkey over the past week.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Michel met Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday.
Ankara also wants more European support in Syria, where its troops are supporting rebels against Russian-backed Syrian government forces.
Erdogan has felt extra pressure as nearly a million people in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib fled towards the Turkish border during the recent Syrian regime assault, which is backed by Russia.
But Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to a ceasefire on Thursday after Turkey launched an offensive against Damascus following the deaths of 59 Turkish soldiers in recent attacks blamed on the regime.
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