TURKEY, EU AGREE ON DRAFT DEAL ON REFUGEE CRISIS

Ankara, 4 Muharram 1437/17 October  2015 (MINA)  –  Turkey and the EU have agreed on a draft agreement on the recent refugee crisis, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu said on Friday.

The EU will provide three billion euros (3.4 billion U.S. dollars) to Turkey to deal with the migration crisis, according to the draft agreement reached between the two sides in Ankara on Thursday, Sinirlioglu told reporters.

He said a safe haven is required to keep potential refugees in Syria, denying that Turkey keep refugees in the country in exchange for funds, Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) reported, quoting Xinhua.

He also urged the international community to resolve the Syrian crisis through political talks.

Some 710,000 migrants have crossed into Europe in the first nine months of 2015, most of whom travelled via Turkey, according to the EU border agency Frontex figures.

Turkey has been hosting more than two million Syrian refugees since the war broke out in Syria four years ago. (T/R07/R01/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)