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EU Trying to Use Turkey as Buffer Zone for Refugees - Turkish Opposition

© REUTERS / Bulent Kilic/PoolTurkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel chat during their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel chat during their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey - Sputnik International
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The European Union is trying to use Turkey as a buffer zone for the reception of refugees, in a refutation of European values, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party of Turkey, Kemal Kilicdaroglu said Wednesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Earlier in October, the European Union and Turkey agreed on a plan to provide Ankara with up to $3.4 billion in aid, ease EU visa restrictions on Turkish citizens and accelerate Turkey's accession to the bloc, in exchange for holding back the flow of migrants from the Middle East into Europe.

"We do not see the EU steps that would meet the interests of Turkey. The aim of Brussels is to use the Turkish territory as a buffer zone for refugees by offering Ankara some money. It is not possible for Turkey to accept this offer, it is contrary to the European values and harms European reputation," Kilicdaroglu told RIA Novosti.

Refugees wait on a bridge after police stopped them at the border between Austria and Germany in Salzburg, Austria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. - Sputnik International
‘Wealthy’ Germany ‘Bribes’ Turkey to Stem Refugee Inflow to Europe
He added that the crisis could be solved only "on the basis of solidarity, cooperation and burden-sharing between the European Union and Turkey."

Europe has been struggling to manage an enormous refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing to Europe to escape violence and poverty in their home countries. Over 710,000 migrants arrived in the bloc during the first nine months of 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex.

Ankara says it has spent some $7.6 billion to host approximately 2.2 million Syrian refugees, according to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus.

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