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European Union leaders voiced caution Thursday about the chances of clinching a deal with Turkey to curb the migration crisis, warning of a long list of difficult issues to overcome.Video provided by AFP Newslook
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, second right, walks into a round table meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk, center, and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, left, during an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 17, 2016.(Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert, AP)
BERLIN — After months of infighting, the European Union and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Turkey clinched a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>deal Friday aimed at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>halting the flow of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>migrants to the continent, European leaders said.
Czech Prime Minister<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bohuslav Sobotka tweeted:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“The deal with Turkey approved. All illegal migrants who reach Greece from Turkey starting March 20 will be returned.” Finland's prime minister also confirmed the deal in a tweet.
However, Turkey's Prime Minister<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ahmet Davutoglu<span style="color: Red;">*</span>still needs to sign the agreement. Earlier Friday he told reporters that for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Turkey, the refugee issue is not an issue of bargaining, but values.”
Under the proposed plan, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>EU would pay to send<span style="color: Red;">*</span>migrants coming to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Greece who don’t qualify for asylum back to Turkey. For every migrant returned, the EU would also<span style="color: Red;">*</span>accept one Syrian refugee. The Syrians<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will be distributed among EU<span style="color: Red;">*</span>states.
Turkey already hosts<span style="color: Red;">*</span>2.7 million Syrian refugees.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Many migrants have arrived on the Greek islands by boat after fleeing conflict in Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
In televised remarks<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Friday, Turkish President<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Recep<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tayyip Erdogan, who is not attending the summit, said:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"At a time when Turkey is hosting three million, those who are unable to find space for a handful of refugees, who in the middle of Europe keep these innocents in shameful conditions, must first look at themselves."
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In exchange for doing a deal, Turkey previously<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said it wanted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its long-stalled application to join the EU<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to be accelerated, passport-free travel to the EU for its citizens as early as this summer and new diplomatic efforts to be made over<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cyprus, an island divided between its Greek and Turkish inhabitants since 1974 following a coup that was supported by Greece.
More than a million people came to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Europe<span style="color: Red;">*</span>last year and more than 130,000<span style="color: Red;">*</span>have arrived on the continent so far in 2016.
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