Refugees in Turkey headed for European borders yesterday after an official announced that the crossings were open due to the escalation of the war in Syria. Syrian government troops, aided by Russia, killed 33 Turkish soldiers on Thursday.
European officials quickly responded to the direct threat of canceling the agreement with Turkey, which stopped the 2015-2016 migrant crisis, when more than a million people arrived by sea to Greece and crossed the Balkans on foot.
Moscow and Ankara have exchanged accusations over the attack in northwestern Syria, the deadliest for the Turkish military in nearly 30 years. The Turkish financial market suffered a decline due to the prospect of the country falling into an even deeper escalation of the nine-year war in Syria, Reuters reported.
"We have decided to no longer prevent Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land or sea," a Turkish official, who insisted on remaining anonymous, told Reuters.
"All refugees, including Syrians, can now cross into the European Union," the official said, adding that police and border guards had withdrawn.
Within a few hours, a column of several dozen migrants set off on foot towards the European border at dawn. One man was carrying a small child in his arms. Others went by taxi.
"We heard about it on television," Afghan migrant Sahin Nebizadeh, 16, of a group crammed into one of three taxis parked on the highway, told Reuters.
"We lived in Istanbul. We want to go to Jedrene and then to Greece," Nebizade said before the taxis headed for the northwestern province of Jedrene and the border crossings with Bulgaria in Greece, 200 km west of Istanbul.
Turkey's pro-government agency Demiroren reported that among the migrants were Syrians, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistanis and Moroccans.
Greece and Bulgaria have announced that they are strengthening their borders. The Bulgarian Prime Minister said that the possibility of a new migrant crisis is an even greater threat at a time when European countries are struggling to respond to the coronavirus.
However, both the EU and the UN refugee agency noted that reports of any changes at the border remained unofficial and that Ankara had not made any formal announcement.
The civil war in Syria has worsened dramatically in recent months, although it has largely disappeared from the agenda of Western countries, according to Reuters.
A million refugees have been displaced since December inside Syria near the Turkish border in harsh winter conditions, perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis of the war, which has left half the population homeless. Turkey, which already hosts 3,7 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot accept any more.
Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, have launched an offensive to capture the northwest, the last territory held by Turkish-backed rebels. Since diplomacy, under the patronage of Ankara and Moscow, does not work, Turkey has never been closer to a direct conflict with Russia on the battlefield, Reuters points out.
Presidents Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone yesterday morning to prevent further confrontation. The Kremlin said they agreed a new deal was needed to prevent conflict in Syria's Idlib province. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Erdogan could meet on March 5 or 6, RIA Novosti reported.
Ankara's anger over Thursday's attack raised the possibility that Erdogan would launch a major operation against the Russian-backed Syrian army.
The possibility of a new migrant crisis has caused alarm in Europe, which since 2016 has been dependent on Turkey to stem Syrian refugees.
European countries are already considering the introduction of restrictions in the fight against the coronavirus.
"At a time when we are introducing stricter border controls due to the coronavirus, imagine an influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants," said Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, announcing the mobilization of additional police forces on the border with Turkey. "We can't afford it."
Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to open the floodgates for migrants to head to Europe, breaking a promise Turkey made to the EU in 2016. That bloc told Ankara yesterday that it expects it to respect its obligations under the agreement, on the basis of which Brussels sent billions of euros in aid.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after an emergency meeting of ambassadors of the member countries that the allies condemn the airstrikes of the Syrian regime and Russia in the province of Idlib.
"I call on them to stop the offensive, to respect international law and to support the efforts of the UN to reach a peaceful solution," Stoltenberg said.
Apart from participating in aerial surveillance over Syria, NATO has no direct role in the Syrian conflict, but its members are deeply divided over the issue of Turkish actions in Syria.
Last night, the UN Security Council held an emergency session dedicated to the situation in Syria.
Turkey, for years the main ally of rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, last week sent thousands of troops and heavy weapons to Idlib, where Assad's forces are trying to capture the last rebel stronghold and end the war.
Erdogan warned that Turkey will suppress Assad's forces if they withdraw from Turkish observation posts in the region. The United Nations and others have called for an immediate ceasefire, but three rounds of talks between Ankara and Moscow have failed to produce an agreement.
The airstrike, which left the Turkish army without 33 soldiers, is its heaviest loss since an attack by Kurdish separatist guerrillas in 1993.
Turkey's defense minister said the attack took place despite coordination with Russian officials on the ground and continued even after the alert was sounded after the first strike.
Turkish Communications Director Fahretin Altun said that, in retaliation, Turkish air and ground units would open fire on "all known" targets of the Syrian army.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Turkish troops hit in the shelling were not supposed to be in the area and that Ankara had not informed Moscow of their location in advance. A Russian lawmaker said a full-scale Turkish military operation would end badly for Ankara.
The State Department announced that the US is very concerned about the attack on Turkish soldiers and that it stands "with Turkey, our NATO ally."
Infobox (Lead):
Bulgaria's prime minister said the possibility of a new migrant crisis is an even greater threat at a time when European countries are struggling to respond to the coronavirus
Infobox: "It's nicer in Europe"
Greece and Bulgaria, both EU members, have said they will not accept migrants.
Greece used smoke bombs at some crossings, while Bulgaria sent an additional thousand members of its security forces to the border with Turkey.
Migrants, some of whom were carrying children and bags, walked along the roads from Istanbul and across the fields. Some wore surgical masks, apparently to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
Greece, which was the main gateway for refugees in 2015 and 2016, has sent additional police forces to its northern border and stepped up naval patrols around its islands.
At one land crossing, police prevented access to dozens of people, including families with children, who had gathered in a no-man's land between the Pazarkule crossing in Turkey and Kastanies in northwestern Greece.
"They will not enter the country. They are irregular migrants, we will not let them go," a Greek government official told Reuters.
By nightfall, hundreds had reached the Kastanies Pass. Authorities have closed the customs office, a defense ministry official said.
Earlier yesterday, more than 60 migrants, mostly from Afghanistan, arrived by boat on the island of Lesbos, Reuters reported. Another boat with about 50 people reached the island of Samos, the police said.
The British agency writes that yesterday's border scenes revived memories of the 2015 migrant crisis, when more than a million people, mostly from the Middle East and Asia, left Turkey for Western Europe, sparking bitter disputes between EU governments and fueling support for far-right extremists. to the parties.
Syrians who boarded buses in the Fatih neighborhood of Istanbul complained about the economic hardships in Turkey and expressed their hope to build a better life in Europe.
"There is no business here. It's not nice in Turkey at all, it's nicer in Europe," said Muhamed Abdullah (25) and added that he wants to go to Germany.
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