Turkey Aims To Work With Eu To Tackle Refugee Crisis

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu called Saturday on the European Union to work together in order to tackle the refugee crisis engulfing the continent.  



Speaking at a joint press conference with his counterpart in Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, Sinirlioglu said:  "Luxembourg, as the term president of the EU, has important responsibilities at the moment. There is a big challenge with migration, which is also a big challenge for Turkey."



"Turkey and the EU should work together to overcome this challenge together," he noted. "I am looking forward to seeing them [Turkey and the EU] continue to work closely together."



Sinirlioglu arrived in Luxembourg on Friday to attend an informal meeting of foreign ministers, in which the refugee crisis is high on the agenda.



The meeting came after 12 Syrian refugees, including eight children, drowned off the coast of the Turkish resort town of Bodrum early Wednesday after their boat en route to the Greek islands sank in the Aegean Sea.



Europe is facing the biggest refugee crisis in decades, with thousands of asylum seekers from Middle Eastern and African countries trying to reach Western Europe.



Stating that Turkey has been hosting close to 2 million Syrian refugees, Luxembourg's minister in charge of migration, praised Turkey's "remarkable commitment" in its assistance to the refugees.



In his statement, Asselborn underlined the importance of working together with the international community to stop the war in Syria.



Asselborn's remarks followed the statement by UN high commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres on Friday, in which he urged the EU member states to accept 200,000 more refugees as part of a mass relocation program. 



"We really need a massive relocation program in which all European states participate," the UN high commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres said in a press conference in Geneva after meeting with Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.  



The EU has been preparing key emergency meetings to take decisions in its response to the present refugee and migration crisis, Guterres said.



"The situation requires a massive common effort that is not possible with the current fragmented approach. Europe is facing its biggest refugee influx in decades," Guterres said in a statement.



According to the UNHCR, more than 300,000 people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea so far this year. Around 2,500 refugees and migrants have died or gone missing trying to reach Europe this year alone, the UN figures say. - Lüksemburg