Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe after its troops killed in Syria

[rooster59]

Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe after its troops killed in Syria

By Dominic Evans and Orhan Coskun

 

Migrants try to get on a bus which will take them to the Turkish-Greek border, in Istanbul, Turkey, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Yagiz Karahan

 

OUTSIDE SARAQEB, Syria/ANKARA (Reuters) - Refugees in Turkey headed towards European frontiers on Friday after an official said the borders had been thrown open, a response to the escalating war in Syria where 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Russian-backed Syrian government troops.

 

Moscow and Ankara traded blame over Thursday's strike in northwest Syria, the deadliest attack on Turkish forces in nearly 30 years. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting to try to avert open conflict between Russia and NATO member Turkey.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the attack and reaffirmed Washington's support for Ankara's efforts to avert a humanitarian disaster in Syria, a White House spokesman said.

 

The two leaders also said Syria and Russia must halt their offensive in northwest Syria, spokesman Judd Deere said.

 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described it as "one of the most alarming moments" of the nine-year-old Syrian war.

 

"The most pressing need is an immediate ceasefire before the situation gets entirely out of control," Guterres told reporters in New York. "In all my contacts with those involved, I have had one simple message: step back from the edge of escalation."

 

Turkey's neighbours Greece and Bulgaria, both European Union member states, vowed not to admit the migrants and reinforced their borders following Ankara's threat to reopen the frontier. It was closed under an accord between Turkey and the European Union that halted the 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people crossed into Europe by foot.

 

As news of Thursday's strike emerged, a senior Turkish official told Reuters the government had decided, effective immediately, not to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe "by land or sea," and that police and border guards had been stood down.

 

"All refugees, including Syrians, are now welcome to cross into the European Union," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

Within hours hundreds of migrants, some wearing face masks in an apparent attempt to guard against the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the world, began arriving on the European frontier in the early morning light.

 

"We heard about it on the television," said Afghan migrant Sahin Nebizade, 16, in a group packed into taxis on the outskirts of Istanbul.

 

At the Pazarkule border post with Greece, scores of migrants faced barbed wire fences and smoke grenades. Some stuck in the no-man's land between the two countries tried to return to the Turkish side, only to be turned back by Turkish authorities.

 

Hamid Muhammed, who carried a young girl, said he was turned away by Greek police. "We want the Turkish and European governments to open this gate," he said.

 

Greece's prime minister said no unauthorised crossing would be allowed. His Bulgarian counterpart said the prospect of a new migration crisis was even more of a threat as European countries struggle to respond to the coronavirus.

 

The EU said that Ankara had made no formal announcement of any change in policy at the border.

 

A MILLION DISPLACED

 

Inside Syria there was ample evidence of the renewed fighting that has caused perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis of the conflict.

 

A million civilians have been displaced since December inside Syria near the Turkish border in desperate winter conditions. Turkey, already home to 3.7 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot take more.

 

Reuters journalists at the front line saw huge clouds of white smoke as government forces struck the town of Saraqeb, an important crossroads captured by rebels this week in a rare push-back against the government's advance.

 

Rebel fighters sped down highways in pick-up trucks mounted with artillery. In the provincial capital Idlib, wounded fighters in jeans and camouflage jackets were carried into a clinic.

 

A U.S. State Department official told reporters that Washington was looking urgently to support Ankara in Idlib with information-sharing and equipment, but that any assistance would not involve military moves by American units.

 

Syria's civil war has worsened dramatically in recent months despite largely vanishing from Western countries' agendas.

Government forces, backed by Russian air power, have launched a major assault to capture the northwest, the last remaining territory held by rebels backed by Turkey.

 

With diplomacy sponsored by Ankara and Moscow in tatters, Turkey has come closer than ever to direct confrontation with Russia on the battlefield.

 

Turkey's Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Friday. The Kremlin said they agreed on the need for a new arrangement to avert clashes. Turkey said they agreed to meet as soon as possible.

 

Turkey, long the main ally of rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, has recently sent thousands of troops and military hardware into Idlib.

 

Thursday's air strike, which Turkey's defence minister said occurred despite coordination with Russia, was the worst on Turkey's military since a 1993 attack by Kurdish separatists.

 

Turkey and Russia gave opposing accounts to the Security Council of what happened. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Turkish troops shared coordinates with Russia, which were then given to Syrian government forces, to avoid conflict. He said Russian warplanes were not providing support in the area where the Turkish soldiers were killed.

 

Turkish U.N. Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu disputed Nebenzia's account, saying Turkish troops were alone in the area and that "radar tracks" showed Syrian government and Russian aircraft were flying in formation during the time of the attack.

 

(Additional reporting by Daren Butler, Ezgi Erkoyun, Ali Kucukgocmen, Can Sezer and Ceyda Caglayan in Istanbul, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Tom Balmforth and Andrew Osborn in Moscow, and Michelle Nichols in Washington; Writing by Jonathan Spicer, Peter Graff, Gareth Jones and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Mike Collett-White and Howard Goller)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-29

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

 

 

[smedly]

send them all to Russia since they are part of the problem

[rasmus5150]

If Turkey really opens their borders, they have no more leverage against the EU. They will have to depend on Trump's handouts, and he's gonna be too busy with his own election.

Good luck Turkey.

[RichardColeman]

ok, let one syrian in and kick one turk out - seems fair to me

[ThomasThBKK]

57 minutes ago, rasmus5150 said:

If Turkey really opens their borders, they have no more leverage against the EU. They will have to depend on Trump's handouts, and he's gonna be too busy with his own election.

Good luck Turkey.

 

The borders are 2 sided tho, why would bulgaria and greece let them in on their side?? 

[justin case]

an this is why CHRISTIANS never can trust that "faith of peace and love"

[baansgr]

Turkey is a safe country, no need to go any further West....everbody wants a better life but borders need to be enforced for the safety of their own population...more so now than ever.

[rabas]

How does Turkey decide to "let refugees into Europe" ? Someone needs to tell Erdogan his problems are with his friend Mr. Missile in Moscow.

[FritsSikkink]

Turkey should have kept his military in their own country to start with.

[simple1]

2 hours ago, rasmus5150 said:

If Turkey really opens their borders, they have no more leverage against the EU. They will have to depend on Trump's handouts, and he's gonna be too busy with his own election.

Good luck Turkey.

Have any of the NATO countries offered additional assistance to Turkey for the anticipated inflow of around  one million extra refugees from Idlib Province? NATO must have been aware for a long time that Idlib was being set up as a killing zone by Syria and Russia, but seem to have done nothing to assist Turkey prepare for the obvious outcome.

[Sujo]

1 hour ago, justin case said:

an this is why CHRISTIANS never can trust that "faith of peace and love"

Russia bombs syria and you blame someone else. Christ on a bike.

[Brigand]

Immigration policy, or the lack thereof an effective one, will be the undoing of the EU. The EU countries simply cannot absorb such numbers (and the financial plus social costs too), who are basically all economic male migrants, as the populations will eventually revolt (voting in tougher parties) and crime will explode (already showing signs of these). It is ironic that many in power often facilitate the rise of their fears through their own over zealousness in actions. The winds of change are blowing over Europe whichever way the left tries to shake it ...slowly but surely and Brussels seems to be asleep (some would say 'in denial').

[jany123]

4 hours ago, rasmus5150 said:

If Turkey really opens their borders, they have no more leverage against the EU. They will have to depend on Trump's handouts, and he's gonna be too busy with his own election.

Good luck Turkey.

Carrot/ stick

stick = opening borders

carrot= closing borders

im not sure about your analysis... my view is that this gives Turkey more leverage (or makes no changes to the status quo of said lever), as they are demonstrating that they are prepared to open their borders and share the pain of a Russian backed attack on a nato nation with those other  nato nations, unless those nato nations do more to help it

 

[Scott Tracy]

Time for a big beautiful wall between Turkey and bordering European countries.

[sirineou]

48 minutes ago, Scott Tracy said:

Time for a big beautiful wall between Turkey and bordering European countries.

Unfortunately there is the little problem of the Aegean sea.

Other European countries need to send ships and equipment  to assist the Greek navy in defending the eastern European border. 

 

[Susco]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

an official said the borders had been thrown open, a response to the escalating war in Syria where 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Russian-backed Syrian government troops.

Did anyone force Turkey to get involved in a war in a foreign country?

[sirineou]

Europe is in a war. a proxy war,  It is being invaded and does not even realises it.

I have nothing against controlled and orderly immigration, or in assisting  refugees, 

But this is an orchestrate invasion.

 

"During the 1990s the then president of Turkey Turgut, Özal, provocatively boasted: “We do not need to make war with Greece. We just need to send them a few million immigrants and finish with them.”  

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/greece-punished-for-its-border-while-turkey-plays-cynical-game-1.2594117 "  

 

This strategy is now pursued by Erdogan and Europe needs to wake up to it. 

[ChaiyaTH]

It is funny how this world works, according to the news fighting each other etc but in the same time Turkey hosts a serious load of nuclear bombs of NATO.
One would almost think NWO is real and it is all a theater.

Edited February 29, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[sirineou]

21 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Europe is in a war. a proxy war,  It is being invaded and does not even realises it.

I have nothing against controlled and orderly immigration, or in assisting  refugees, 

But this is an orchestrate invasion.

 

"During the 1990s the then president of Turkey Turgut, Özal, provocatively boasted: “We do not need to make war with Greece. We just need to send them a few million immigrants and finish with them.”  

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/greece-punished-for-its-border-while-turkey-plays-cynical-game-1.2594117 "  

 

This strategy is now pursued by Erdogan and Europe needs to wake up to it. 

I don't understand the confused reaction by one of the posters. You might  disagree with my opinion, but i think I presented my case  clearly and with a link to where it was publicly admitted by a previous turkish president.   . 

[JustAnotherHun]

Erdogan opened the borders and started the new "run to Europe" after some of his soldiers were killed.

Where were they killed? In Idlib.

Where is Idlib? In Syria.

How do we call uninvited troops in a foreign country? Yeah, right: Invaders.

 

Europe will not be able to stop the next flood of asylum seekers. When Hungary closed the "Balkan route" after 2015, it was harshly critisized by the german Merkel-regime and all the "refugees welcome"-hyper moralists instead of being assisted to stop the invaders.

Again the european countries will leave Greece and others alone to deal with the problem. 

Edited March 1, 2020 by JustAnotherHun

[ivor bigun]

I was looking at the pictures of all the "refugees" at the border ,thousands of them, it seemed ,virtually all men hardly a woman and child amongst them ,i know the usual ones on here will say i am racist or whatever,but we have to face the fact that if this goes on the west and our homelands are going to be destroyed by this invasion of other cultures .

when i was back in my old hometown 3 years ago ,it was not the place i brought my family up in ,it was when we went there a quite nice "working class" town with a park and some quite nice areas,there was a small muslim part ,which pretty much was a mix of British shops and Asian shops ,most dressed as we did ,there was also a Jamaican area ,quite "bright" colours on the houses ,but nice and neat.also two council estates ,clean and on the whole fairly tidy.

Those days have long gone ,the Jamaican area is now overtaken by the muslim area,which has grown to look like another world ,overshadowed by the major Mosque in the town ,other areas are now looking like slums especially the estates ,where you dare not go at night.

hardly any native British English speaking people seem to live there ,except in the flats which seem to have nothing but single mums with kids in .

Walking through the town there are so many different races,it seems you hardly hear English spoken. i am sure my old home town is not the only one like that ,but if this is the future ,i am glad i had the best of times and am now well out of it.

[sead]

20 hours ago, smedly said:

send them all to Russia since they are part of the problem

Or maybe they aren't. <deleted> does USA or Turkey have to do in there. If Turkey didn't enter it would now be 1 whole country.  USA doesn't care about the refugees since they aren't running to USA but will destabilise Europe further. Europe has to stop letting Trump interfere in parts of the world they dont belong and put some economic pressure on Turkey. Europe is a fracking pussy

[tifino]

19 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

The borders are 2 sided tho, why would bulgaria and greece let them in on their side?? 

Nah! - just open in the direction towards Russia

[BestB]

Erdogan has been blackmailing Europe for years . He was trying to establish what once was Turkish empire and be the leading head in the Middle East but failed miserably .

 

He <deleted> off US and NATO by buying Russian defence systems , but then also upset Russians when shot down Russian plane . Russia set him straight pretty fast and seems he has a short term memory loss problem.

 

This is not his war and not on his territory, nothing but yet another attempt at establishing dominance . Pull out of Syria and he has nothing to worry about .

 

Russia made it very clear they are there to support Assad, attacking Syrian army on Syrian territory is not justified , no mater how Turkey spins it.

 

Maybe if turkey and the rest bud out, there would not be refugees fleeing 

[Bluespunk]

13 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

It is funny how this world works, according to the news fighting each other etc but in the same time Turkey hosts a serious load of nuclear bombs of NATO.
One would almost think NWO is real and it is all a theater.

I wouldn’t. 

[smedly]

2 hours ago, sead said:

Or maybe they aren't. <deleted> does USA or Turkey have to do in there. If Turkey didn't enter it would now be 1 whole country.  USA doesn't care about the refugees since they aren't running to USA but will destabilise Europe further. Europe has to stop letting Trump interfere in parts of the world they dont belong and put some economic pressure on Turkey. Europe is a fracking pussy

yes leave it to Assad - he really cares for all the people he is slaughtering 

[JustAnotherHun]

Erdogan supports islamistic militia in Syria. They are surely far better than Assad as everybody knows they stand for human rights and peace. Russia is doing the job in Syria the west should do.

[billd766]

21 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Turkey should have kept his military in their own country to start with.

I suppose that you forgot about the Russians in Syria. Shouldn't they all be sent home also?

[FritsSikkink]

6 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I suppose that you forgot about the Russians in Syria. Shouldn't they all be sent home also?

No, they are there on invitation by the current government to help them against the Western invaders.

[from the home of CC]

using a population as a weapon, helluva world we live in...