Articles
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4/3/2020
‘Open The Gates’: Erdoğan’s Infamous Foreign Policy
Middle-East Research Department Middle-East Research Department
REPORT AT A GLANCE
“They say, ‘Do not open the gates.’ I told them months ago that ‘if you do not share this burden with us, we will open the gates’”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated on March 2, 2020.[1] While Erdoğan has in previous years announced similar warnings, however, on February 28, 2020, he ordered the opening of the borders to Greece, allowing a vast number of refugees and asylum-seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq to leave Turkey and cross the border to Greece.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The 2016 migration deal has weakened the EU’s position and has made it susceptible to Erdoğan’s threats. It has also appointed Erdoğan to the powerful role of Europe’s gatekeeper.
- President Erdoğan is using his position and strategic timing to weaponize refugees and use them as a bargaining chip to promote his agenda.
- The EU is holding on to the migration deal, however, so far, Europe’s foreign ministers reject Erdoğan’s demands for further financial aid.
- The EU shares responsibility and should uphold the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, protected under international law.
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