EU warns ‘won’t be pressured’ over Greece-Turkey border crisis as tension flares
5932 Mins Read
Ministers from across the EU met in Zagreb on Friday for a second day of talks on the conflict in Syria’s Idlib province, as well as the build-up of refugees and migrants at Greece’s border with Turkey.
Member states were set to discuss their response to a ceasefire deal involving Ankara and Moscow, and what contribution the EU should make to easing the crisis.
Before going into the meeting, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the agreement meant the bloc could focus on delivering aid and help on the ground.
At the same time, tension flared at Greece’s mainland border with Turkey early on Friday as volleys of tear gas were fired from the Turkish side of the fence towards Greek border guards.
Thousands of refugees and other migrants have been trying to get into Greece through the country’s eastern land and sea borders where there has been a standoff since February 28, after Turkey declared it would no longer hold back thousands of migrants stuck in that country under a deal brokered with the EU in 2016.
Delegates attend an informal meeting of European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers in Zagreb, Croania, 06 March 2020. EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT
“The ceasefire is good news. Let’s see how it works, but it is a precondition to increase humanitarian help for the people in Idlib,” Borrell said.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said he opposed more aid for Turkey now, due to the “cynical way” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was using refugees.
“We should not react to the pressure that Turkey is exerting on us by agreeing to more money under pressure,” he said.
Thousands of migrants have massed on the Turkish side of the border with Greece at Pazarkule, after a decision by Ankara to stop preventing them from reaching the EU’s outer border. Greece has said it will protect its frontier and will not allow the migrants in.
Turkey is host to some 4 million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians, and has said it can no longer contain the refugee influx from Syria. Around 1 million people have been displaced after a military escalation in the Syrian province of Idlib.
