Erdogan Says EU Fails to Meet Commitments Under Migration Deal
ANKARA (Sputnik) – The European Union does not meet its commitments on readmission of migrants under the agreement with Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
"We are making great efforts in the Aegean Sea to prevent new tragedies with refugees. The agreement with the European Union has played a deterrent role, and Turkey continues to fulfill its obligations. But we see that the European Union does not follow the readmission mechanism, as required by the agreement,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who on a visit to Turkey.
Currently, 4 million refugees are residing in Turkey, while the country has spent about $35 billion on hosting them, the president stressed.
In March 2016, the European Union and Turkey concluded a migration deal in which they agreed that Syrian refugees arriving in Greece would be returned to Turkey if their claim for asylum was rejected, while Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey would be resettled in Europe on a one-for-one basis. Brussels, in turn, vowed to provide financial aid to the country to cover the costs of migrant reception.
"We are making great efforts in the Aegean Sea to prevent new tragedies with refugees. The agreement with the European Union has played a deterrent role, and Turkey continues to fulfill its obligations. But we see that the European Union does not follow the readmission mechanism, as required by the agreement,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who on a visit to Turkey.
Currently, 4 million refugees are residing in Turkey, while the country has spent about $35 billion on hosting them, the president stressed.
In March 2016, the European Union and Turkey concluded a migration deal in which they agreed that Syrian refugees arriving in Greece would be returned to Turkey if their claim for asylum was rejected, while Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey would be resettled in Europe on a one-for-one basis. Brussels, in turn, vowed to provide financial aid to the country to cover the costs of migrant reception.