Turkey would no longer need to honour an agreement on migrants with the European Union if the bloc fails to uphold its promise to provide visa-free travel for Turks by June, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday (April 18).
Turkey and the EU last month sealed a controversial deal intended to halt illegal migration to Europe in return for financial and political rewards for Ankara.
The EU will take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with money, visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.
“I do not want to make any comments or speculation. We will meet (with EU leaders) in the coming days. I continue to believe the visa exemption will come into effect in June. If this doesn’t happen, obviously nobody can expect Turkey to hold its side of the deal,” Davutoglu told a news conference before departing for Strasbourg.
But he said Turkey has been working to fulfill its pledges to the EU and he had no reason to expect a U-turn on the agreement.
The EU-Turkey deal aims to discourage migrants from perilous crossings, often in small boats and dinghies, and to break the trafficking rings which have fueled Europe’s biggest influx sinceWorld War Two.
Davutoglu was also asked about news reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s raising the need to close Syria’s border with Turkey to U.S. President Barack Obama to stem the flow of foreign fighters and arm supplies for the extremists.
“Turkey’s borders have only been open for humanitarian purposes to the refugees (fleeing from) Syria where civil war has been destroying the country for five years. And when you consider the refugees that Turkey has been hosting, the world can only thank Turkey. Nobody has the right to call Turkey to account for (its actions),” Davutoglu said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed on Monday to continue building closer coordination on Syria, including through their intelligence services and defence ministries, the Kremlin said on Monday.
During the call, the Kremlin said Putin stressed the need for the moderate opposition to distance itself swiftly from Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. He also stressed the need to close Syria’s border with Turkey, “from where fighters and arms supplies for the extremists make their way in,” the Kremlin said.
Russia has repeatedly raised the issue of the border, across which, according to Russia, militants are crossing from Turkey into Syria.