Turkey: We Won't Back Down on the Decision to Open the Border to Migrants Wishing to Go to Europe

A source in the Turkish presidency confirmed on Friday that “the ceasefire agreement in Idlib that was reached yesterday at the summit of Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow does not call for Ankara to back away from its recent changes in asylum policy.” He continued, “This agreement does not change the fact that the European Union did not keep its promises within the framework of the migration agreement concluded between Ankara and Brussels in 2016. ”

The source considered that "through this agreement, Turkish foreign policy achieved new success in line with the national interests of the country." He added, "On one side, we maintained our national interests by stopping new waves of irregular migration coming from Syria, and on the other hand we made the countries of the West, led by the  United States, support us. ”

The source pointed out that "the Putin and Erdogan agreement does not constitute an obstacle to the support of the European Union and the United States for Turkey," calling for "steps to increase trust, including the deployment of defense systems and the development of intelligence cooperation between Ankara and the West."