BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th December, 2019) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will fly to Ankara next month in a bid to save the European Union's deal on migrant returns as a new stream of refugees looks set to pour from Turkey, media said.
Merkel's upcoming meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan was reported by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which did not cite its sources. A government spokesperson did not confirm her travel plans.
Merkel and Erdogan last met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London earlier this month to discuss humanitarian issues. The leaders are expected to revisit the Syrian and Libyan crises after both have escalated in recent weeks.
Erdogan has warned that 80,000 Syrians are on the way to the Turkish border after escaping the government's military action in Idlib. He has warned Europe that his country cannot handle this influx alone and that Greece will be the first to feel the impact.
The threat came as media reported that Turkey was scaling down maritime border controls on its western shore, which served as a gateway for thousands of migrants seeking refuge in the EU before the bloc struck a pact with Turkey in 2016.
