Turkey warns it may stop implementing refugee deal

Turkey has warned that it would stop implementing a historic deal with the European Union on curbing the flow of refugees to Europe if the EU fails to fulfill its promises.

“There are precise conditions. If the European Union does not take the necessary steps, then Turkey will not implement the agreement,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech on Thursday.

He added that everything that has been promised in the March 18 deal between Ankara and the EU must be put into action by the European side.

Under the agreement, Turkey has accepted a series of measures aimed at curbing the inflow of refugees from the country to Greece in return for some benefits, including billions of dollars in aid, visa-free travel for Turks to Europe and, more significant than all, acceleration in the EU’s processing of Turkey’s long-awaited bid for membership in the continental body.

Erdogan’s warning may indicate that Ankara would not sit idle if EU fell short of its pledge to grant visa-free travel to Turkish citizens, which the deal promises “at the latest” by June 2016.

The Turkish president, however, elaborated on EU’s delay in fulfilling its pledges, saying Turkey continues to spend billions of dollars on accommodation of refugees escaping the war in Syria as the EU has provided no funds in this regard.

“Some three million people are being fed on our budget," said Erdogan, adding that Ankara has spent around USD 10 billion on the welfare of refugees since the conflict began in Syria in 2011.

“We have received lots of thanks for our action on the refugees and in the fight against terrorism. But we are not doing this for thanks,” said Erdogan, adding, “There have been promises but nothing has come for the moment.”

The most controversial commitment shared by Turkey under the deal with the EU is taking back all refugees arriving illegally on the Greek shores through the Aegean Sea. Ankara has also accepted to resettle refugees currently stranded on Greek islands.

These clauses have triggered international outrage, with organizations like the Amnesty International claiming Turkey could not be considered a “safe country” for the return of refugees. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has also blasted the return of refugees, saying that could lead to “collective punishment” for the people.

Reports show the EU-Turkey deal has succeeded in reducing the number of refugees arriving in Greece since it went into effect three weeks ago. However, thousands still remain in Greek islands not willing to depart for Turkey.

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