Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is asking the EU for more financial aid for the Syrian refugees in his country - otherwise he could let them through the borders into Europe.
During a speech in Ankara to provincial governors, he said that Turkey may be "forced" to "open the doors". "As for the burden-sharing of the refugees we have received as guests, we have not received the necessary support from the world, and especially from the European Union, and to get them we may be forced to do so , to do that."
Erdogan also talked about a planned security zone in northern Syria, saying he wanted to "settle at least a million" refugees there. The government was "determined to begin setting up the zone until the last week of September in the east of the Euphrates, as Turkey wanted it.
Turkey has received 3.6 million refugees
Turkey has received around 3.6 million refugees since the beginning of the civil war in neighboring Syria in 2011, more than any other country in the world. The culture of welcoming culture had recently turned, mainly because of the poor economic situation.
As part of a refugee pact, EU countries are financing aid to refugees living in Turkey, and are taking away vulnerable people from Syria. At the same time, the EU is allowed to send back migrants who are illegally coming via Turkey to the Greek islands, ie to the EU. The number of refugees coming from Turkey has increased significantly recently.
The US and Turkey had agreed at the beginning of August on the establishment of the "security zone" in northern Syria. So far, only a few details are known.
Turkey has been longing for an area along the border that is under its sole control and from which Kurdish troops are withdrawing. The area is controlled by the Kurdish militia YPG, which considers Ankara a terrorist organization. For the US, on the other hand, she is an important partner in the fight against the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS).