According to Turkish presidential sources, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke on the phone on Thursday evening to discuss the refugee crisis following a threat by Erdoğan to open the borders to allow the flow of 3 million refugees into Europe.
Reuters reported that according to Turkish sources, the two leaders discussed Europe’s promises to Turkey as part of a refugee deal struck earlier this year. In return for a readmission agreement and for keeping refugees outside EU borders, Turkey was promised at least 3 billion euros to be spent on refugees inside its territory.
The Reuters report also said the two leaders discussed the need for a fair and permanent solution to the Cyprus issue.
Frequently accusing Germany of harboring terrorists while calling even critical journalists terrorists himself, Erdoğan reportedly asked Merkel to adopt a more active stance against the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and supporters of the Gülen movement in Germany.
