"As witnessed in the US presidential election and the UK ‘Brexit’ referendum, recent elections in the West have defied conventional wisdom and revealed deep dissatisfaction with a host of issues; immigration has been chief among them," the report stated.
On Friday, Erdogan threated to send refugees across the European border if the European Union followed through on threats to break off talks with Turkey over the nation’s eventual membership in the bloc.
Up to nine nations in the European Union are expected to hold national elections this year, including in Austria next month, France in the spring and Germany in September. Nationalist parties have made strong gains according to opinion polls in the three countries.
Meanwhile, more than 2 million refugees from Syria, Iran and Afghanistan and other conflict zones remain stranded in Turkey, according to published reports.
