Erdogan chides Brussels over €3bn fund delay for refugees
by Agency Staff,
2016-03-07 19:14:33.0
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised the European Union (EU) yesterday over a four-month delay in disbursing a promised €3bn fund for refugees agreed under a deal in November last year.
"It’s been four months. They are yet to deliver," Mr Erdogan said in Ankara, as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held summit talks on the migrant crisis with EU leaders.
The EU clinched an agreement with Turkey to deliver €3bn in funds for refugees in return for Ankara’s co-operation in tackling the refugee crisis. However, the money has yet to arrive and obtaining the funds is one of the priorities of Mr Davutoglu’s talks in Brussels.
Mr Erdogan said it was not the fault of Turkey, which is hosting 2.7-million refugees from the Syrian civil war, that so many migrants were using its coast as a springboard to reach the EU.
"Look, they say on the other side, ‘don’t let refugees come in’. But it is not us that is sending them. They are coming from the sea and a lot of them are unfortunately dying," Mr Erdogan said. The Turkish coast guard has rescued close to 100,000 migrants from the sea, he said.
AFP
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Picture: AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised the European Union (EU) yesterday over a four-month delay in disbursing a promised €3bn fund for refugees agreed under a deal in November last year.
"It’s been four months. They are yet to deliver," Mr Erdogan said in Ankara, as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held summit talks on the migrant crisis with EU leaders.
The EU clinched an agreement with Turkey to deliver €3bn in funds for refugees in return for Ankara’s co-operation in tackling the refugee crisis. However, the money has yet to arrive and obtaining the funds is one of the priorities of Mr Davutoglu’s talks in Brussels.
Mr Erdogan said it was not the fault of Turkey, which is hosting 2.7-million refugees from the Syrian civil war, that so many migrants were using its coast as a springboard to reach the EU.
"Look, they say on the other side, ‘don’t let refugees come in’. But it is not us that is sending them. They are coming from the sea and a lot of them are unfortunately dying," Mr Erdogan said. The Turkish coast guard has rescued close to 100,000 migrants from the sea, he said.
AFP
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