Ankara puts safe zone demand on agenda as thousands of refugees await entry at border
Amid hundreds of Syrian refugees fleeing Aleppo after Syrian regime attacks, Ankara is set to bring its demand for the establishment of a "safe zone" in Syria to the agenda once again.
According to Ankara's plan to control the waves of refugees, refugees on the border are expected to be kept in Syrian until it deems the state of emergency over.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday criticized the U.N.'s latest call to Turkey to open its border for the new influx of refugees trying to escape Aleppo. He said that the U.N. had only provided Turkey with $455 million of funding for refugees whereas Ankara has already spent $10 billion on this crisis and that the situation in Syria has become a domestic security issue for Turkey.
"You're asking us to open borders to the latest influx of Syrian refugees, but what have you done up until now?" Erdoğan said.
On the same day, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also accused the U.N. of hypocrisy over the Syrian refugee issue in a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mart Rutte. Davutoğlu said that Turkey has kept its borders open since the beginning of the civil war in Syria and added: "But it is hypocrisy that some circles, including the U.N., who do not raise their voices against Russia, are calling on Turkey to open its borders."
He said that the humanitarian corridor between Turkey and Aleppo is closed due to the "vicious" attacks by regime forces backed by Russia.
"Hundreds of refugees may face hunger. All should know that Turkey has been doing its share. I underline that there is ethnic cleansing ongoing in Aleppo only to leave regime supporters behind in the region," he said.
On Tuesday, the U.N. called Turkey to open its doors to civilians fleeing danger and seeking international protection in line with its international obligation to protect people fleeing conflict and persecution.
William Spindler, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, acknowledged that Turkey's helping hand to civilians got caught in Syrian regime attacks backed by Russian strikes.
"Turkey has ... been providing assistance inside Syria," he said at a news conference in Geneva.
"Turkey has also allowed a number of vulnerable and wounded people into Turkey. However, many people are not being allowed to cross the border. We are asking Turkey to open its border to all civilians from Syria who are fleeing danger, seeking international protection as they have done since the start of this crisis."
On Feb. 6, the EU also urged Turkey to let in Syrian refugees as EU High Representative of the for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that EU support for Turkey aims at guaranteeing that Ankara will protect and take in all fleeing Syrians. The EU approved a 3 billion euro fund to help Ankara deal with the refugee crisis.
In the latest Cabinet meeting chaired by Davutoğlu, a 10-point action plan that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to last week to tackle the refugee crisis and the thousands of Syrian on border were discussed. The ministries' shares in the action plan and what should be done for the thousands of refugees who have been pouring to the border were detailed at the meeting.
One of the important points from the meeting was that they said it is not possible for Turkey to cope with the constantly fleeing refugees on its own and that there is an urgent need for the international community to get involved. During the meeting, the decision was made that it would be more functional not to open the border right away and to try to meet refugees' needs while they are kept in Syria.
In a move different from previous waves of refugees, Ankara aims to convince the international community of the necessity of establishing a "safe zone" in Syria since nearly 70,000 refugees are expected to head to the Turkish border in the coming days and 350,000 Syrians are stuck in Aleppo as the regime's Russia-backed siege intensifies.
Turkey, a key country with more than 2.5 million refugees, has spent more than $10 billion on humanitarian assistance, according to official numbers announced last week. There are 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria while the war has created 4.59 million refugees and resulted in the deaths of over 250,000 people. The U.N. has set its funding requirements for the 2016 Syria response in Syria and surrounding countries at $7.73 billion.
According to Ankara's plan to control the waves of refugees, refugees on the border are expected to be kept in Syrian until it deems the state of emergency over.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday criticized the U.N.'s latest call to Turkey to open its border for the new influx of refugees trying to escape Aleppo. He said that the U.N. had only provided Turkey with $455 million of funding for refugees whereas Ankara has already spent $10 billion on this crisis and that the situation in Syria has become a domestic security issue for Turkey.
"You're asking us to open borders to the latest influx of Syrian refugees, but what have you done up until now?" Erdoğan said.
On the same day, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also accused the U.N. of hypocrisy over the Syrian refugee issue in a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mart Rutte. Davutoğlu said that Turkey has kept its borders open since the beginning of the civil war in Syria and added: "But it is hypocrisy that some circles, including the U.N., who do not raise their voices against Russia, are calling on Turkey to open its borders."
He said that the humanitarian corridor between Turkey and Aleppo is closed due to the "vicious" attacks by regime forces backed by Russia.
"Hundreds of refugees may face hunger. All should know that Turkey has been doing its share. I underline that there is ethnic cleansing ongoing in Aleppo only to leave regime supporters behind in the region," he said.
On Tuesday, the U.N. called Turkey to open its doors to civilians fleeing danger and seeking international protection in line with its international obligation to protect people fleeing conflict and persecution.
William Spindler, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, acknowledged that Turkey's helping hand to civilians got caught in Syrian regime attacks backed by Russian strikes.
"Turkey has ... been providing assistance inside Syria," he said at a news conference in Geneva.
"Turkey has also allowed a number of vulnerable and wounded people into Turkey. However, many people are not being allowed to cross the border. We are asking Turkey to open its border to all civilians from Syria who are fleeing danger, seeking international protection as they have done since the start of this crisis."
On Feb. 6, the EU also urged Turkey to let in Syrian refugees as EU High Representative of the for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that EU support for Turkey aims at guaranteeing that Ankara will protect and take in all fleeing Syrians. The EU approved a 3 billion euro fund to help Ankara deal with the refugee crisis.
In the latest Cabinet meeting chaired by Davutoğlu, a 10-point action plan that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to last week to tackle the refugee crisis and the thousands of Syrian on border were discussed. The ministries' shares in the action plan and what should be done for the thousands of refugees who have been pouring to the border were detailed at the meeting.
One of the important points from the meeting was that they said it is not possible for Turkey to cope with the constantly fleeing refugees on its own and that there is an urgent need for the international community to get involved. During the meeting, the decision was made that it would be more functional not to open the border right away and to try to meet refugees' needs while they are kept in Syria.
In a move different from previous waves of refugees, Ankara aims to convince the international community of the necessity of establishing a "safe zone" in Syria since nearly 70,000 refugees are expected to head to the Turkish border in the coming days and 350,000 Syrians are stuck in Aleppo as the regime's Russia-backed siege intensifies.
Turkey, a key country with more than 2.5 million refugees, has spent more than $10 billion on humanitarian assistance, according to official numbers announced last week. There are 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria while the war has created 4.59 million refugees and resulted in the deaths of over 250,000 people. The U.N. has set its funding requirements for the 2016 Syria response in Syria and surrounding countries at $7.73 billion.
Last Update: February 10, 2016 20:50