Turkey calls on EU to be sensitive toward migrant burden-sharing

The refugee problem should not be seen solely as a matter Turkey has to resolve, the defense minister has said, calling on the European Union to display sensitivity in sharing the migrant burden.

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"We expect everyone, especially the EU, to take responsibility for this issue. We tried our best, and we continue to do so. We have made and are making all kinds of sacrifices, financial and moral," Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said during an inspection on the Turkish-Greek border on Aug. 29. He was accompanied by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and other top commanders.

Turkey is hosting nearly 5 million refugees of which 3.6 million are Syrians and is now concerned about a new refugee influx from Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover of the control in the war-torn country.

Akar asked the neighboring countries and the EU to show sensitivity in handling the situation, stressing that the problem should not be seen as only Turkey's issue. Slamming the Greek policies concerning the refugees, the minister described the push back of migrants by the Greek naval guards as unacceptable.

"While we are making great sacrifices to ensure the safety and humanitarian needs of 5 million refugees in northern Syria and 4 million in our country, it is not really possible to accept the inhumane measures taken by Greece against the arrival of 3-5 people," Akar said.

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"This is against the law and humanity," he stressed, calling on Greece to review the measures it took against the migrants.

HH Expansionist policies of Greece

Turkey is seeking to resolve its differences with Greece over Aegean through peaceful means and dialogue but is becoming a subject of constant provocations and aggressive acts and rhetoric by...