Turkey cannot meet all EU demands on refugee crisis: official

BRUSSELS

Turkey is not in a position to meet every demand of the European Union in terms of solving the worst refugee and migrant crisis facing the bloc since World War II, a Turkish official has said.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting among the 28 EU interior ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Turkey’s Deputy Interior Minister Sebahattin Ozturk said: "Turkey cannot meet all the demands. A set of demands is beyond Turkey’s control, but we will make an effort."

Under a refugee action plan, the EU agreed to offer 3 billion euros to meet the needs of refugees hosted in Turkey, visa liberalization for Turkish citizens and speeding up accession talks in exchange for the candidate country stemming the flow of refugees seeking to enter Europe via Greece.

"I hope we will see results in the near future concerning these plans," Ozturk said, referring to visa liberalization and the readmission agreement, which allows the swift return of people who are irregularly residing in other countries.

Turkey will meet the EU's 28 leaders on March 7 for a wide-ranging summit that is expected to focus on the refugee crisis. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to attend but Ozturk could not confirm whether that is the case.

Hosting more than 2.5 million refugees, the highest number in the world, Turkey is a major transit country for refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe via the Aegean.

BRUSSELS

Turkey is not in a position to meet every demand of the European Union in terms of solving the worst refugee and migrant crisis facing the bloc since World War II, a Turkish official has said.

Hosting more than 2.5 million refugees, the highest number in the world, Turkey is a major transit country for refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe via the Aegean.