Turkish President Erdogan says Ankara's patience with US efforts to create a 'safe zone' in northern Syria was running out, indicating Turkey will go ahead with its plans to resettle Syrian refugees there
Turkey's President Erdogan says Ankara plans to settle 2 million Syrian refugees in"safe zone", which would run from Euphrates river in Syria to Iraqi border. But Western allies are yet to respond to Turkish calls for funds.
Speaking at the parliament's opening ceremony in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey planned to settle two million people in the planned "safe zone," which he said would stretch east from the Euphrates river in Syria to the Iraqi border. Erdogan said he's aware of economic, social, and cultural challenges of hosting 3.6 million Syrians, adding Turkey is not intent on "hosting them forever".
The only reason for Turkey's existence in Syria is the terror threat towards Turkey's borders, he said.Last week at the UN, Erdogan said under the Turkish plan, up to two million Syrian refugees could be settled in the safe zone with international support. But the US troops have yet to leave and Washington and Ankara have so far failed to agree on details.
Erdogan has also warned the European Union that Turkey, which has received billions of euros in return for choking off the flow of Syrian migrants into Europ e in 2016, could "open the gates" once again if it does not get more funding.
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