Istanbul
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again demanded European countries to share the migrant burden as he vowed to keep the doors open for migrants heading to the continent.
Erdogan also said he hoped to reach a deal on a ceasefire in Syria when he meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later in the week following increasing clashes in the last rebel hold-out of Idlib.
He warned Europe that it will have to shoulder its part of the migrant “burden”.
“After we opened the doors, there were multiple calls saying ‘close the doors’,” he said.
“I told them ‘it’s done. It’s finished. The doors are now open. Now, you will have to take your share of the burden’.”
Some 13,000 migrants, including Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis, massed at Turkey´s border with Greece over the weekend after Erdogan announced that Turkey would no longer prevent them from leaving towards the European Union.
Clashes erupted as Greek police blocked thousands at the border, firing teargas at the refugees who responded by lobbing rocks. Turkey hosts some four million refugees — the majority of them Syrians — but agreed in 2016 to prevent them leaving for Europe in exchange for billions of euros in assistance.. AFP
