Turkey, Germany, France and UK on migration crisis
President Tayyip Erdogan will hold a teleconference on Tuesday with German, French and British leaders to discuss Turkey’s standoff with the European Union after it opened its borders to migrants trying to enter the bloc.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged further funds for Syrians in Idlib after a video conference call held with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Boris Johnson on March 17 during which they discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, Libya and the coronavirus pandemic.
“Joint action against coronavirus, resolution of Syria crisis, humanitarian assistance to Idlib, refugee flow, developments in Libya, the situation in the EU and our relations with the EU,” were the issues discussed at the meeting, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu tweeted.
ollowing the meeting, Merkel said they will provide 125 million euros for the Syrians in Idlib. She also signaled Berlin’s green light to launch talks on upgrading the Customs Union with Turkey. European leaders called on Erdoğan to ease the pressure on the Greek border as well.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Merkel said they had a “very useful discussion” on the recent developments and humanitarian situation in northwestern Syria.
“Germany has earmarked 25 million euros [$27,498] plus 100 million euros [$109,994] for humanitarian assistance, and this must now quickly reach to the people,” she said, referring to millions of displaced Syrians who moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in recent months.
The German Chancellor praised the March 5 agreement between Turkey and Russia to restore a fragile cease-fire in Idlib, after weeks-long clashes between the conflicting parties. “We very much welcome a temporary ceasefire,” Merkel said, but she also underlined the need for a sustainable cease-fire and steps to revive the talks for a political solution to the conflict.
Merkel said the leaders have also discussed the migration issues and the 2016 EU-Turkey refugee agreement, during the video conference call. “We have expressed our willingness to offer more financial support if necessary,” she said, adding that they were also aware of Ankara’s expectations in upgrading the EU-Turkey Customs Union.
Merkel said in the conversation that Erdoğan "has insisted his country will remain a member of NATO. We have also expressed our support to it and we welcomed it.”
Tens of thousands of migrants tried to get into Greece, a European Union member state, after Turkey said on Feb. 28 it would no longer keep them on its territory as part of a 2016 deal with Brussels in return for EU aid.
Turkey hosts 3.6 million Syrians, the world’s largest refugee population, and fears that Syrian government forces could drive another 3 million across its borders from the rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib.
The European Union has called on Turkey to stop the migrants, from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Africa as well as Syria, trying to cross the border.
Greece has used tear gas and water cannon against the migrants, and both countries have sent troops or security forces to the border. Ankara has accused Greek forces of shooting dead four migrants at the border, a claim Athens strongly denies.
Erdogan, on a visit to Brussels last week, was told by EU leaders he must stop encouraging migrants to cross into Greece if Ankara wanted the bloc to provide further backing.
The talks were originally planned as a summit meeting in Istanbul. That was changed after the spread of coronavirus prompted all four countries to impose travel restrictions.
The four leaders will discuss updating the 2016 agreement between the EU and Turkey under which the bloc pledged 6 billion euros in aid to finance projects for Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The summit will also discuss Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, where a nearly two-week old ceasefire struck by Russia and Turkey is broadly holding. Erdogan has repeatedly said the European Union and NATO have to support Turkey to protect civilians there.
