European Parliament Leader Chides Turkey For Threatening To Flood EU With Migrants

Muhammad Irfan Published November 20, 2019 | 09:53 PM

European Parliament President David Sassoli told the top Turkish diplomat on Wednesday that Ankara's threats to release millions of migrants into the European Union were completely inadmissible

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2019) European Parliament President David Sassoli told the top Turkish diplomat on Wednesday that Ankara's threats to release millions of migrants into the European Union were completely inadmissible.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to open the floodgates if the EU does not back its cross-border operation to create a "safe" zone in Syria where migrants could be moved.

"I ...

made clear that it is completely unacceptable to use people fleeing war and persecution for political gain or to pressure the EU," Sassoli said in a statement after meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Sassoli described the meeting as frank. He condemned the Turkish incursion in Syria and defended the EU's role in managing migratory flows in the Eastern Mediterranean, which have persisted despite the 2016 EU-Turkey deal to stop people from coming to Europe.