Turkey says EU financial offer on migrants is ‘unacceptable’

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu on Friday slammed an EU offer of financial help to Turkey to ease the migrant crisis as unacceptable, saying an action plan agreed in Brussels was a draft and not final. “There is a financial package proposed by the EU and we told them it is unacceptable,” Sinirlioglu told reporters. He said the action plan agreed late Thursday is “not final” and merely “a draft on which we are working”. [caption id=“attachment_2454612” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Refugee crisis deepens/ AFP[/caption] The EU and Turkey had struck late Thursday what was described as a deal on an action plan aimed at stemming a massive influx of migrants into the bloc. The minister complained that the EU had been seeking to give the funds out of the budget allocated for Turkey. “It is out of the question for us to accept an understanding of aiding Syrian refugees from funds allocated for Turkey,” he said. The final offer had to be more than the “insignificant and meaningless amount that they proposed before,” he said. He refused to provide any exact amount Ankara required but said: “If (the EU) delivers 3 billion euros ($3.4 bn) in the initial phase, it would be meaningful.” “We have spent $8 billion (on refugees) and our gross national product is around $800 billion. Their (GNP) is $18 trillion. Sinirlioglu rejected any “bargaining” with the EU, saying: “The aid to be delivered will not be for Turkey but to support Syrians in desperation.” Turkey is the main departure point for the more than 600,000 migrants who have entered Europe this year, most of them making the short but dangerous sea crossing to the Greek islands, but some also coming by land. Turkey is currently hosting close to 2.5 million refugees – 2.2 million of them Syrians fleeing the four-and-a-half year conflict in their country and as well as 300,000 Iraqis and 50,000 Afghans. Only 266,000 Syrians stay in camps along the border and the rest live in Turkish towns, leading to social tensions. AP