President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the U.S. and other NATO allies to back Turkey's military offensive in Syria, threatening to allow waves of Syrian refugees to head for European shores if his country doesn't receive adequate support.
Mr. Erdogan said 109 Kurdish fighters had been killed, as Turkish troops captured villages on the Syrian side of the border and moved deeper into Syria.
He said in a Twitter message Thursday that the U.S. has three choices: "Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!".
He directed his ire at the EU, threatening to forgo an arrangement under which Ankara is preventing Syrian migrants from reaching Greece and other bordering European countries in exchange for financial aid to accommodate nearly four million Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The EU struck a migration deal with Turkey in 2016 after political backlash over the inflow of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers.
Mr. Erdogan has said he would like the EU to help finance a Turkish plan aimed at creating a "Safe zone" on the Syrian side of the border, in areas currently controlled by Kurdish forces, and relocate some three million Syrian refugees in newly built cities.
Mr. Erdogan said the offensive in Syria was aimed at guaranteeing Turkey's security, not annexing parts of Syrian territory.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkeys-erdogan-threatens-eu-with-wave-of-refugees-if-it-doesnt-support-syria-offensive-11570724256?mod=hp_lista_pos1
Mr. Erdogan said 109 Kurdish fighters had been killed, as Turkish troops captured villages on the Syrian side of the border and moved deeper into Syria.
He said in a Twitter message Thursday that the U.S. has three choices: "Send in thousands of troops and win Militarily, hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions, or mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!".
He directed his ire at the EU, threatening to forgo an arrangement under which Ankara is preventing Syrian migrants from reaching Greece and other bordering European countries in exchange for financial aid to accommodate nearly four million Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The EU struck a migration deal with Turkey in 2016 after political backlash over the inflow of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers.
Mr. Erdogan has said he would like the EU to help finance a Turkish plan aimed at creating a "Safe zone" on the Syrian side of the border, in areas currently controlled by Kurdish forces, and relocate some three million Syrian refugees in newly built cities.
Mr. Erdogan said the offensive in Syria was aimed at guaranteeing Turkey's security, not annexing parts of Syrian territory.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkeys-erdogan-threatens-eu-with-wave-of-refugees-if-it-doesnt-support-syria-offensive-11570724256?mod=hp_lista_pos1
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