President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will continue to allow migrants it hosts to freely pass to Europe.He claimed he expects their numbers at the borders to reach 30,000 on Saturday.
“What did we do yesterday… We opened the doors,” Erdogan said in Istanbul on Saturday, adding “We will not close those doors …Why? Because the European Union should keep its promises.”
He claimed that “18,000 migrants have amassed on the Turkish borders with Europe since on Feb. 28.”
“The number could reach as many as 30,000 on Feb. 29,” he added.
Turkey, which is already home to around 3.6 million Syrian refugees, fears more people arriving in the country where there is growing popular discontent against their presence.
“We are not in a situation to handle a new wave of refugees” from Syria, Erdogan said.
The killing of Turkish troops has increased tensions with Russia, which backs the Syrian regime’s relentless offensive to take back the remaining chunks of the Idlib region.
Under a 2018 deal with Russia, NATO-member Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib – several of which have been encircled by regime forces.
Erdogan has given Damascus until the end of February to pull back or face the consequences. The deadline is due to expire on Feb. 29 night (2100 GMT).
Referring to a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 28, Erdogan said: “I asked Mr. Putin: ‘what’s your business there? If you establish a base, do so, but get out of our way and leave us face to face with the regime.'”
Erdogan on Feb. 29 confirmed fresh Turkish strikes on regime positions since Feb. 28, including on what officials say was a chemical warfare depot.
“We would not want things to reach this point but as they force us to do this, they will pay a price,” Erdogan warned, in an explicit reference to Assad’s forces. [with info from Turkish daily hurriyet]
PS Erdogan forgot to mention that those flocking to the borders with Greece are not fresh refugees from Idlib – who would need several days to reach NW Turkey – but refugees and migrants incl some from African countries who have been in his country for quite some time.
Anyway, the EUropean Union may take Erdogan’s statement seriously and re-considers whether he has now officially changed his migration policy (as the EU said on Friday) thus violating the EU-Turkey Deal of 2016.
