Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to let thousands of refugees cross into Europe and warned Damascus will “pay a price” in retaliation after dozens of Turkish troops were killed inside Syria.
At the Turkish border, Greek police are clashing with several thousand migrants already gathered at the entrance to EU territory, where they hurled rocks at security forces firing tear gas across the frontier.
Dozens of other migrants landed on Greek islands in dinghies after crossing from the Turkish coastline.
Turkey and Russia, who back opposing forces in the Syria conflict, have held talks to defuse tensions after an air strike killed the Turkish troops, sparking fears of a broader war and a new migration crisis for Europe.
But Erdogan has raised the stakes and vowed to allow refugees to travel to Europe from NATO-member Turkey as a way to pressure EU governments over the Syrian conflict.
Turkey already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
Erdogan’s comments are his first after 34 Turkish troops were killed since Thursday in northern Syria’s Idlib where Moscow-backed Syrian regime forces are battling to retake the last rebel enclave.
— AFP
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