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EU-Turkey Migration Deal Not Failure - German Chancellor

© REUTERS / Umit BektasAn elderly refugee man stands with children as they wait for the arrival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans (all not pictured) at Nizip refugee camp near Gaziantep, Turkey, April 23, 2016.s
An elderly refugee man stands with children as they wait for the arrival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans (all not pictured) at Nizip refugee camp near Gaziantep, Turkey, April 23, 2016.s - Sputnik International
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that she disagreed with critics of the EU-Turkey migration deal who said the agreement was a failure.

NATO country flags wave outside NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday July 28, 2015 - Sputnik International
Turkey 'Not Easy Partner' for Germany Within NATO – Ex-BND Chief
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that she disagreed with critics of the EU-Turkey migration deal who said the agreement was a failure.

"Some said the deal would never be made, it is not even worth a try. After the deal was made, they said it would never work. If we have new problems, they will say it is an ultimate failure. I do not think so and I do not work in that way," Merkel told the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

She noted a 90-percent decline in the number of migrants arriving on Greek shores due to the Brussels-Ankara agreement, adding that the implementation of the deal was a long process requiring continuous effort.

"In case some steps, like visa-free travel for Turks, take more time than expected due to unfulfilled requirements, we will figure out how we can resolve the situation," Merkel said.

Policemen escort a group of refugees after their arrival at the airport in Hanover, central Germany, on April 4, 2016. - Sputnik International
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On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara would withdraw from the migration deal if Brussels did not deliver on its promise to introduce visa-free travel to the Schengen Area for Turkish citizens.

In March, Brussels and Ankara agreed on a deal providing that Turkey would take back all migrants who arrive in the European Union illegally through its territory in return for an acceleration of its EU membership talks and a visa-free regime between Turkey and the Schengen Area.

Ankara has to meet 72 EU requirements before a visa-free regime with the bloc can be introduced.

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