EU calls on Erdogan to respect migrant deal

After ordering the coast guard services to prevent migrants from crossing the Aegean Sea, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Brussels on Monday March 9 to discuss the Syrian conflict and migration issues. EU leaders urged Turkey to abide by the terms of an agreement to remove migrants from European borders in a "frank" conversation with the Turkish president, who came to demand support.

Some tension was visible after the discussion, Recep Tayyip Erdogan having chosen to go directly to the airport rather than holding a press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and that of the European Council, Charles Michel.

"It is clear that we have our disagreements, but we spoke frankly (...) It was a good conversation," said Ursula von der Leyen.

Today's open and constructive dialogue with President @RTErdogan was a good starting point of a process that first of all has the aim: support for migrants and stability for the region. pic.twitter.com/cZOYdAX2E9

Charles Michel called on Turkey to "respect the commitments" resulting from the EU-Turkey agreement of March 2016, which provides for migrants to stay in Turkey, in exchange for European financial aid. However, the Turkish leader, who is asking for more support in the face of the situation in Syria, has decided to open its borders to the passage of migrants and refugees to put pressure on European countries.

The Turkish president, who had said on his arrival in Brussels wanting to "bring relations between Europe and Turkey to a much stronger level", did not speak after the meeting.

Erdogan calls for "concrete support"

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two European leaders have instructed EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to "clarify the implementation of the" EU-Turkey "deal "that the two parties have" the same interpretation ", explained Charles Michel.

"It is good that the lines of communication with Turkey remain open and active," insisted Ursula von der Leyen, for whom the 2016 agreement is "still in force".

Ankara however considers insufficient the aid granted for the care of four million migrants and refugees, mainly Syrians, which it has been hosting for years.

Out of 6 billion euros in planned aid, 4.7 billion have been committed of which 3.2 billion have already been disbursed, according to the European Commission.

Before this meeting, Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, to whom he asked for more help in the conflict in Syria and in the face of the millions of refugees engendered by the fighting.

"NATO is in a critical process in which it must clearly show its solidarity," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan at a press conference

This "concrete support" must manifest itself "without discrimination" and without "political conditions", he added.

Behind the negotiations hangs the specter of Idleb

Turkey also wishes to obtain EU support for its military operations in northern Syria. The Syrian regime's offensive - backed by Moscow - against the northwestern province of Idleb, the last rebel stronghold in Syria, has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Ankara fears that these displaced people, estimated at nearly one million, will flock to its territory.

>> Read also: Amani Ballour, a Syrian pediatrician at the heart of the fighting: "I have seen too many children die"

The Turkish president eased migration pressure on the EU on Friday by ordering the coast guard to prevent migrants from crossing the Aegean Sea, another route to Greece.

The Greek authorities have announced that more than 1,700 of them have arrived on the Greek islands, in addition to the 38,000 already present who are overcrowding the refugee camps in increasingly precarious conditions.

With AFP and Reuters

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