‘Open the gates’ to migrants, Erdogan tells Greece before EU talks
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will hold talks in Brussels Monday as he called on Greece to “open the gates” for migrants at Turkey’s border trying to get to Europe.
Amid tensions at the Turkey-Greece land border – where thousands of migrants have massed after Turkish authorities announced they would no longer prevent them from crossing into the EU – Erdogan said he would use Monday’s meeting to discuss “different outcomes” with Brussels.
In a televised address to the nation Sunday, Erdogan urged Greece to open its border after clashes in recent days between migrants and Greek police.
Migrants and refugees walk near by the Greek border with their belongings and pets near Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Turkey, 08 March 2020. Some 10,000 migrants, mostly from Syria, have reached Turkey’s land borders with EU states Greece and Bulgaria with the intention of crossing into the European Union. EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU
“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.”
Erdogan will meet European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels at 6pm local time (1700 GMT) on Monday.
Turkey has repeatedly railed against what it describes as unfair burden-sharing, since around four million mostly Syrian refugees live in Turkey.
