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Turkish PM vows solidarity with EU to address migrant crisis

Xinhua, March 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday vowed solidarity with his European counterparts to address the exacerbated migrant crisis.

"We have many challenges in front of us, the only way to response to these challenges is solidarity," said Davutoglu on his arrival for the European Union (EU) -Turkey summit.

"I am back in Brussels for the second EU-Turkey summit in three months, this summit itself shows how indispensable Turkey is for the EU and the EU for Turkey," he told reporters.

Ankara has been hosting millions of migrants who were keen to cross its border to enter the EU and sought asylums.

The EU and Turkey earlier hammered out an action plan to stem migration flows and tackle networks of traffickers and smugglers and now "the full and speedy implementation of the EU-Turkey action plan remains a priority" to the summit, said a statement from the European Council.

"At the end of the day our continent is our continent all together. we have to see the whole picture, not just irregular migration, but the whole future of our continent is on the table where we need solidarity between us," Davutoglu said.

"I am sure these challenges will be solved through our cooperation and Turkey is ready to work with the EU," he added.

To the Turkish prime minister, the summit was also viewed as a good chance for the country's accession process to the EU.

"Turkey is ready to be a member of the EU as well," Davutoglu said. "Today I hope this summit will not just focus on irregular migration but also the Turkish accession process to the EU. It will be a success story and a turning point in our relations in a positive way."

The EU is hold a summit in Brussels with Turkey to seek solutions to the worsening migrant crisis and reinforce its passport-free policy.

European Council President Donald Tusk wrote in a letter on Friday that the European leaders were set to confirm that the EU would close its western Balkans route, which was the main entry point for migrants with 880,000 in 2015 alone and 128,000 in the first two months of this year.

The European leaders will also discuss the reinforcement of the humanitarian assistance to refugees, particularly in Greece, said the letter. Endit