While the refugee influx towards Europe is currently increasing by up to 300%, the Turkish minister of foreign affairs warned the Europeans that Turkey will stop holding the refugees back should the requirement for a visa in order for Turkish citizens to enter the EU not be waivered. The warning was issued just a few hours after Turkey cashed more than 1bn euro from the European Commission.
In an interview he gave to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Mevlut Cavusoglu noted that the refugee crisis was dealt in an efficient way thanks to a series of “very serious measures” which were applied by Ankara. “Yet all these (measures) depend on the waiver of a visa issue for our citizens; a crucial point of our 18th of March agreement.
“If the visa waiver doesn’t follow, we will have to withdraw from the deal which includes the relocation of refugees as well as the March 18 agreement” he said while adding the the Turkish government is expecting a specific timetable.
The full interview is to be published tomorrow.