ANKARA (Sputnik) — Ankara will continue to admit refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Syria and Iraq, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.
"We have opened our doors to our brothers in Syria and Iraq and will leave them open. We treat refugees differently than in other states, as Syria and Iraq did not differ geographically from the territory of present-day Turkey a hundred years ago," Erdogan said in his address to the Turkish parliament.
The Turkish president added that Ankara had spent some $8 billion on accommodating and providing humanitarian aid to the refugees, while the collective aid of other states has totaled just $417 million.
Erdogan noted that, even though Turkey was committed to hosting refugees, two million extra people would create difficulties in any country.
