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Turkey Expects to Agree Visa-Free Travel With Europe in 2016

© AFP 2023Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pauses as he speaks to the media in Ankara, Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pauses as he speaks to the media in Ankara, Turkey - Sputnik International
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Turkey expects to strike a deal allowing its citizens to travel visa-free to the European countries within the so-called Schengen Area next year, the country's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, said in a televised interview on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waits for the arrival of European Council President Donald Tusk prior to a meeting at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. - Sputnik International
EU Concessions to Turkey Over Refugees Rekindles Historic Hostilities
ANKARA (Sputnik) Turkey applied to join the 28-nation European Union in 1987. Negotiations on its accession to the bloc began in 2005. Twenty two EU member states and four non-EU European countries participate in the border-free Schengen Area.

"A visa-free regime with the EU is a priority in our talks [on EU membership]. I’ll announce the good news on visa-free Europe as early as in 2016," Davutoglu said to the TGRT television channel.

EU leaders are meeting with Turkish officials for talks on the migrant crisis. Ankara will be asked to bolster border controls to curb refugee travel to Europe.

The Turkish government estimates that the country currently hosts about 2.5 million refugees, many of them from Syria. It is expected to ask for concessions from Brussels for retaining additional Syrian asylum seekers.

A diplomatic source in Brussels confirmed to RIA Novosti on Tuesday that Ankara planned to use the option of creating new refugee camps on its territory as a bargaining chip to press Europe to open its borders to Turkish travelers.

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