Turkey Aggravates Refugee Crisis to Receive EU Money – Assad Aide

Ankara’s shelling of Syrian Kurdish settlements is aimed at creating more reasons for Syrians to flee the region and the European Union to financially support Turkey in managing the refugee crisis, Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — On November 29, Brussels and Ankara approved a joint plan to counter the influx of migrants into the bloc from the Middle East and North Africa, under which EU member states will give some 3 billion euros (around $3.3 billion) to Ankara in 2016-2017 and fast track talks for its accession to the bloc.

"It is very clear, Turkey supports terrorism in Syria… and Turkey creates problems for Syrian refugees in order to appease Europe and to get billions of dollars," Shaaban said.

On February 13, Turkish artillery began shelling positions held by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish group with links to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), in Syria's Aleppo Province.

According to Davutoglu, shelling was a retaliatory measure within rules of engagement.

Turkey believes that the Kurds in Syria have ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, which fights for Kurdish independence from Turkey.

While Russian and Syrian forces are fighting terrorist groups in Syria, Turkey has attacked Syrian territory in an attempt to defend militants, Bouthaina Shaaban told Sputnik.

"When the Syrian army in cooperation with Russian Air Forces were able to direct a very important blow at terrorists, we saw Turkey attacking our territory directly in defense of the terrorists," Shaaban said.

"It is very clear — Turkey supports terrorism in Syria," the adviser added.

Damascus is not not sure that the Saudi-backed Syrian opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), wants to reach peace in the Syrian ongoing civil war, Shaaban told Sputnik.

"The Syrian delegation was there from the beginning and those coming from Saudi Arabia were waiting for the orders from Saudi Arabia…The Syrian government is forthcoming, but we are not sure about the [Riyadh] opposition desire to really being political settlement to Syria and end bloodshed in Syria," Shaaban said.

The HNC, which was created in Saudi Arabia in December and includes representatives of some groups considered to be terrorist organizations by Syria and Russia, is one of the opposition delegations participating in the UN-brokered talks on the Syrian settlement.

"There is a need [to for the list], because if you want to have secession of hostilities on the ground, you have to know who is who," Shaaban said after addressing an experts meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Moscow.