Erdogan discusses Syria, migrants with EU leaders

BRUSSELS, Oct 5 (KUNA) -- Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan met EU leaders in Brussels Monday evening to discuss ways to end the ongoing Syrian crisis and to tackle the refugee problem that Europe is facing.
"It is not only about refugees; it is also about relation between Turkey and the EU, the accession process. I will propose to my friends a common Turkey migration agenda between Turkey and the EU, we'll discuss that in detail in the course of our meeting and we'll discuss it tonight during the working dinner with President Tusk and with President Schulz," President of the the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters.
On his part, Erdogan said that "Turkey is a country fighting terrorism in the entire region and we are also a country which has welcomed 2.2 million Syrian refugees on our territory.
"We have also welcomed 300,000 Iraqi refugees in our country. This is the best proof that Turkey is a safe country considering that we are welcoming so many refugees and that we are fighting terrorism in such a determined way," he noted.
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, told the press after meeting the Turkish President that they discussed the urgent need to find a solution to the conflict in Syria.
"We agree that the solution cannot happen through having Russia, allied with President Assad, bombing legitimate opposition forces. We agree on the need to fight Daesh. In this context, President Erdogan also updated me on the worrying news also for us of Russian warplanes violating Turkish territory," he said.
"The European Union is ready to take up all issues with Turkey so we also discussed a possible buffer zone in Syria," said Tusk.
"However, Turkey needs to be equally ready to act. The situation where hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing to the EU via Turkey must be stopped. And we cannot do it on our own, we need the Turkish side. Strengthened cooperation will benefit both sides. Europe wants a real solution to this very real crisis," he added.
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, also met Erdogan and discussed ways to address the flow of refugees into Europe. (end) nk.hb