After ordering the opening of Turkey's borders on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday (March 4th) that a solution to the migration crisis requires European support for Ankara in Syria. While the same day, clashes broke out between refugees and police on the Greek border, several European leaders denounced a "blackmail" of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"If European countries want to solve the problem, then they must support Turkish political and humanitarian solutions in Syria," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday in a speech in Ankara.
Since the Turkish president asked for the opening of his country's borders on Friday, tens of thousands of people have flocked to Greece, awakening in Europe the fear of a migration crisis similar to that of 2015.
But the European Union "firmly rejects Turkey's use of migratory pressure for political ends", in a statement by its interior ministers on Wednesday.
The 27 also call on Turkey to "fully implement the provisions of the 2016 agreement" concluded with the EU following the 2015 migration crisis.
>> Read also: Migration crisis: in Lesbos, hospitality gives way to hostility
Several European leaders have also denounced an "blackmail" of Ankara. This is the case of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves le Drian, who said Wednesday that Europe will not "give in to blackmail" from Turkey and that its borders will remain "closed" to migrants.
"We have never seen refugees as a means of political blackmail," replied Turkish Presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.
After a visit to Ankara, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell announced the release of emergency aid of 170 million euros "for the most vulnerable in Syria".
Tensions on the Greek-Turkish border
On the ground, new scuffles broke out at the Pazarkule border post (Kastanies, Greek side). Migrants threw stones at the Greek security forces, which responded to the tear gas.
The governorate of Edirne in northwestern Turkey said in a statement that six migrants trying to cross into Pazarkule were injured by Greek gunfire. One died from chest wounds, the source said.
Athens, which accuses Ankara of spreading "false information", "categorically denied" and claimed that Turkish police had fired tear gas canisters against Greek police in Pazarkule.
Read also: "The island will be transformed into a giant prison for migrants": the inhabitants of Lesbos rebel against a new detention center
In this regard, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, reminded Wednesday that the "border protection" of the EU must be done "with full respect for fundamental rights".
In an attempt to ease tensions, the foreign ministers of the 27 will examine Thursday and Friday in Zagreb "aid for the management of asylum requests" to "decongest hotspots", these refugee registration centers, " on the Greek islands, "said Jean-Yves Le Drian.
A "safe zone" as currency
Since the borders were opened by Ankara, some 1,720 migrants have joined the Aegean islands, according to Athens, adding to the 38,000 exiles already there.
Ankara's decision to open its borders comes at a time when Turkey is seeking Western support in Syria. The Syrian regime's offensive since December in Idleb, the last rebel and jihadist stronghold in northwestern Syria, has indeed caused a humanitarian catastrophe, with nearly a million people displaced towards the Turkish border.
Ankara, which already hosts 3.6 million Syrians on its soil, has been demanding for several months the creation of a "security zone" in the north of Syria to settle the displaced people there.
The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribeDownload the app
google-play-badge_FR