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Turkish PM slams 'hypocritical' calls to open borders
by Staff Writers
The Hague (AFP) Feb 10, 2016


NATO debates German-Turkish refugee aid request
Brussels (AFP) Feb 10, 2016 - NATO defence ministers discussed Wednesday a request by key members Germany and Turkey to help cope with a massive influx of refugees, mostly fleeing the Syrian conflict, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Ankara on Monday that Turkey and Germany would ask NATO to help police the Turkish coast to prevent smugglers from packing migrants into boats for the perilous crossing to Greece.

Stoltenberg said the 28 allies "are now considering the request for NATO support for coping with the migrant and refugee crisis and we are of course doing that in very close dialogue with the allies that are most affected."

"There are consultations and discussions going on now but I can not tell you anything about the conclusions," he said as NATO defence ministers held a two-day meeting in Brussels.

"We have to look very carefully into whether and how NATO can make a contribution and a difference," he said, adding that there could be an announcement on Thursday.

Agreeing a NATO role could prove difficult as Turkey and Greece have a long history of disputes, including in the Aegean Sea where the migrants cross.

Turkey -- the only Muslim-majority nation in NATO and with one of its largest armies -- was the main transit country for the more than one million migrants who reached Europe last year.

Once in Greece, they mostly made their way north to Germany and other richer countries in the European Union, driving what has become Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War II.

The problem shows no sign of slowing -- more than 70,000 made the dangerous crossing in January, with over 400 dying, according to the International Organization for Migration (OIM).

As fighting intensifies in Syria, there are growing fears hundreds of thousands more could follow as the EU struggles to control the influx, having agreed a joint action plan agreed with Turkey in November.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday slammed as "hypocritical" calls by some countries urging Ankara to open its borders to Syrian refugees while failing to demand Russia halts punishing air strikes.

Turkey is under mounting pressure to open its border to people fleeing a Russian-backed assault by the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad in the north of the war-torn country.

On a visit to the Netherlands, Davutoglu insisted the borders of his country had always been open to those fleeing Syria's civil war. Turkey already hosts some 2.5 million Syrian refugees.

"I find it hypocritical that some circles are telling Turkey to 'open your borders' while at the same time failing to tell Russia 'enough is enough'," Davutoglu told reporters.

But he added: "We will take in Syrians who want to come (to Turkey), but as a priority we are building a new camp to accommodate Syrians inside Syria's borders."

Tens of thousands of Syrians were still stranded Wednesday at the frontier north of the second city of Aleppo, where more than 500 people are said to have been killed in the offensive since February 1.

The Turkish leader also claimed that what was happening in Aleppo was "ethnic cleansing... with the goal of only leaving those behind who support the regime."

"Human rights and the Geneva Convention are being trampled underfoot," he said, adding "everyone must share the responsibility to combat this humanitarian disaster."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also slammed the Russian air strikes, launched by Moscow late last year.

"The Netherlands calls on all parties including Russia to strictly comply with UN resolution 2254," he said.

Fighting must stop to allow "in humanitarian aid," Rutte said, adding the "Russian air strikes would seem to be in conflict with" the resolution.

Meanwhile, the Dutch parliament on Wednesday voiced broad support for airstrikes in Syria.

Rutte announced late last month that current bombing operations will be expanded from Iraq into its war-torn neighbour after the Netherlands received a request to join the US-led campaign.

New diplomatic talks on Syria are due to be held in Munich on Thursday to discuss providing humanitarian relief to Aleppo and other cities besieged by the Russian-backed regime forces.

Russia is a signatory to UN Security Council resolution 2254, passed in December, which orders all warring parties in Syria to respect an immediate ceasefire and allow humanitarian access to besieged civilians.

Turkey was the main gateway for the more than one million migrants and refugees who crossed into Europe last year most fleeing the war in Syria, and has come under pressure from the European Union to do more to stop them entering into the EU.

The problem shows no sign of slowing, and last week the EU thrashed out ways of financing a 3.0 billion euros deal with Turkey to help care for those already on its soil while stemming the flow of refugees.

Davutoglu insisted all the money would go towards helping the refugees and not be used for Turkey's own national interests.

Turkey had already spent some 10 billion euros on hosting just those refugees in camps, he said, warning the total cost for all refugees was between 20 to 25 billion euros.


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