Turkey has upped the ante in both Idlib — where its military is busy attacking Syrian government forces in a state of open war — and its stance toward Europe, after late last week making good on threats to 'open the gates' for refugees fleeing Syria's war-torn northwest. But European leaders are standing by Greece and Bulgaria, saying the EU's borders are shut.
Already over 35,000 refugees are reportedly at EU borders under watch of Turkish security which had been ordered last Friday to "stand down" while thousands try to force their way into Greece and Bulgaria, and make the dangerous drip in rubber boats across the Aegean. As we've detailed there's a sense of chaos and panic at the borders, with Greece's military response aggressively trying to keep migrants out.
“Millions of refugees” will soon be moving toward Turkey’s borders with the EU, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in new provocative televised statements on Monday.
“Hundreds of thousands have crossed, soon we will reach millions,” Erdogan said in the speech; however, the UN has thus far counted around 13,000 to have entered Europe since the first wave began last Friday.
“The period of Turkey’s unilateral self-sacrifice in relation to the refugees has come to an end,” Erdogan said, speaking in Ankara. “Since we have opened the borders, the number of refugees heading toward Europe has reached hundreds of thousands.”
He's repeatedly urged NATO, the EU, and Washington to back Turkey's military intervention against the ongoing Syrian-Russian offensive in Idlib. He's also charged Europe with ignoring pleas for assistance in dealing with over 3 million Syrian refugees said to be on Turkish territory.
Erdogan also warned Syria in the Monday speech that it must withdraw from Idlib “to the lines Turkey has determined as soon as possible,” or be left without “a head on their shoulders.”
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