As coronavirus ravages Iran and threatens to spread through the broader Middle East, potentially hitting refugee and war-torn populations hardest, it appears Erdogan is now making good on prior threats to "Open the gates" of a flood of refugees on Europe.
On Friday top Turkish officials were quoted as saying Turkey has no choice but to "Loosen" its stance on the some 3.4 million refugees it is hosting.
Turkey has announced it has opened its until now sealed border with Idlib for at least 72 hours, and will allow unhindered passage of refugees to Europe.
The European Union is downplaying the fact that crowds of Syrian refugees have already been seen en route to Greece via land borders as well as the Aegean Sea.
Refugees gathered in Fatih, Istanbul, today after 5 buses brought by Turkey already left toward the Greek/Bulgarian border.
An EU spokesman was quoted in Reuters as downplaying the potential "Flood" from Turkey coming: "I would like to stress that there was no official announcement from the Turkish side about any changes in their asylum seeker, refugee or migrant policy," the spokesman for the EU's executive said.
"Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Turkey have begun preparing to travel towards the country's borders with Greece and Bulgaria after Ankara's sudden decision to no longer impede their passage to Europe," The Guardian reports early Friday.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/european-nightmare-turkey-opens-gates-refugees-covid-19-spreads-region
On Friday top Turkish officials were quoted as saying Turkey has no choice but to "Loosen" its stance on the some 3.4 million refugees it is hosting.
Turkey has announced it has opened its until now sealed border with Idlib for at least 72 hours, and will allow unhindered passage of refugees to Europe.
The European Union is downplaying the fact that crowds of Syrian refugees have already been seen en route to Greece via land borders as well as the Aegean Sea.
Refugees gathered in Fatih, Istanbul, today after 5 buses brought by Turkey already left toward the Greek/Bulgarian border.
An EU spokesman was quoted in Reuters as downplaying the potential "Flood" from Turkey coming: "I would like to stress that there was no official announcement from the Turkish side about any changes in their asylum seeker, refugee or migrant policy," the spokesman for the EU's executive said.
"Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Turkey have begun preparing to travel towards the country's borders with Greece and Bulgaria after Ankara's sudden decision to no longer impede their passage to Europe," The Guardian reports early Friday.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/european-nightmare-turkey-opens-gates-refugees-covid-19-spreads-region
No comments:
Post a Comment