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Erdogan Threatens to Expel Syrian Refugees From Turkey

© AFP 2023 / Bulent KilicA Syrian woman stands holding a banner that reads in Turkish ''we are migrants, we will pass'' and in Arabic (top), " We are only crossing, our aim is peaceful to secure humanitarian passage allowing refugees to enter Greece " near the highway, on their way to the border between Turkey and Greece
A Syrian woman stands holding a banner that reads in Turkish ''we are migrants, we will pass'' and in Arabic (top),  We are only crossing, our aim is peaceful to secure humanitarian passage allowing refugees to enter Greece  near the highway, on their way to the border between Turkey and Greece - Sputnik International
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United Nations should advise other countries to accept the refugees, not only Turkey, and Ankara will send these refugees there.

Displaced families, fleeing violence in Aleppo city and from Islamic State-controlled areas in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, sit at a school in al-Mabroukeh village in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain, Syria December 28, 2015 - Sputnik International
UN Refugee Agency Urges Turkey to Open Border to Syrian Asylum-Seekers
ANKARA (Sputnik) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Thursday to send the Syrian refugees to other countries since Ankara allegedly was on the brink of losing patience over the massive influx of migrants from the Arab republic.

"If the air campaign in Syria continues, the number of [new] refugees can reach 600,000… How many refugees other countries have accepted — 100, 300, 500, some of them, one. We do not have the word ‘idiot’ written on our foreheads. We endure this, but when our patience is over, we will do what is needed. Don’t think that the planes and the buses are there for nothing. Let the United Nations advise other countries to accept the refugees, not us, and we will send these refugees there," Erdogan stated at a meeting with young businessmen.

"Someone is trying to blame us by making public content of negotiations. We strongly defended there the rights of Syrian refugees and want the European Union to meet its obligations. We are not ashamed of this. In the past we embussed refugees in Edirne [city on the border with Greece] and sent them back. This can be done once or twice, but then we will open the border, and will wish them a happy journey," Erdogan added.

Erdogan also stated that Turkey may open its borders with the European Union to refugees.

Migrants and refugees disembark safely from a dinghy at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from the Turkish coast, Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 - Sputnik International
Erdogan Trapping Europe Into Accepting Millions of Syrians - Kurdish Leader
Earlier this week, media reports emerged claiming that Erdogan had demanded 30 billion euro ($34 billion) from President of the European Council Donald Tusk and European Commission Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker to help the country resolve the refugee crisis, threatening to send refugees to Europe.

"Someone, having published the nature of talks [with Juncker and Tusk], is trying to accuse us. We really defended the rights of refugees there and we want the EU to fulfill its obligations… before we used to put refugees [on the Greek border] on buses and send them back. We can do this once or twice but later we’ll open the border and wish them a safe journey," Erdogan said.

On Monday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the country had reached its "capacity" for admitting refugees.

Free Syrian Army and Turkish flags flutter over the Bab Al-Salam border crossing, that is closed from the Turkish side, activists said, in northern Aleppo countryside, Syria, January 18, 2016 - Sputnik International
Turkey Reached 'Capacity' for Refugee Admission - Deputy Prime Minister
Turkey hosts over 2 million of Syrian migrants, who fled across the border to escape violence in their home country. Syria has been locked in an armed conflict involving various opposition factions and radical Islamist militant groups for almost five years.

Last Wednesday, Brussels approved 3 billion euros in funds to help Turkey cope with the inflow of Syrian migrants.

Over the weekend, media reports claimed that as many as 35,000 Syrian refugees arrived at the border with Turkey in recent days and their numbers were expected to rise drastically amid military action in the northern Syrian region of Aleppo near the Turkish border.

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