Germany on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to the EU-Turkey refugee agreement, amid fears of another refugee wave due to the Syrian regime’s attacks in the northwestern region of Idlib.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern over recent developments and increasing number of crossings in the Aegean Sea in recent months.
“CONSTRUCTIVE DISCUSSION”
“I have discussed these issues in a phone call with my Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu this week. I had once again highlighted that the EU would honour its commitments under the EU-Turkey refugee agreement,” he said, adding that he expected Turkey would also continue to honor its commitments. “It has been a very constructive discussion. So I believe that the situation will step by step calm down and normalize again,” he added.
Last month, nearly 8,100 refugees and migrants arrived at Greek islands, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
At the peak of the refugee crisis in 2015, more than 856,000 people, mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees, crossed the Aegean Sea.