German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the need to stand by Turkey in front of the large number of asylum seekers it hosts.
This came in Mas' statements to reporters yesterday, Monday, after he participated - via closed-circuit television - in the meeting of foreign ministers of European Union countries, which discussed several issues, including the issue of asylum seekers.
Mas said that Turkey bore a heavy burden by hosting more than four million asylum seekers.
He explained that discussions are taking place between European officials and their Turkish counterparts to resolve differences over the immigration agreement between the two sides, and stressed the need for the parties to abide by their pledges within the framework of the agreement.
He added, "We agree that we will not leave Turkey alone in front of the large number of asylum seekers, especially those coming from Syria," stressing that they will work in the coming weeks to resolve the differences that appeared in the last period.
On March 18, 2016, Turkey and the European Union reached three related agreements: immigration, re-admission of asylum seekers, and cancellation of entry visas for Turkish citizens.
Asylum seekers continue to wait for the opportunity to pass into European territory via Greece, coinciding with the Athens authorities' confronting them with water cannons, rubber bullets, beatings and other methods of violence.
It is noteworthy that since last February 27, the asylum seekers began to flow to the western borders of Turkey, after Ankara announced that it would not hinder their movement towards Europe.