According to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “millions” of migrants and refugees will soon head towards Europe. He warned that while announcing withdraw form 2016 deal with the EU, which was to prevent migrants entering Europe. Turkey accused the EU bloc of not doing enough to provide aid and resettlement assistance for EU-bound refugees.
On the other side, asking urgent help from the EU border agency, Greek police used tear gas to prevent thousands of migrants entering and the country. Turkey said that it will not be able to cope with a new wave of Syrian refugees. It is reported in several media outlets that nearly a million Syrians have fled to the Turkish border from the Idlib area, amid heavy fighting between Turkish-backed anti-government forces and Syrian government forces.
There is an estimation that 3.7 million Syrian refugees are being sheltered in Turkey.
Geographically, Turkey is a transit point for many of the refugees and migrants escaping war and deprivation in their own countries. Since the situation in Idlib has escalated, it is creating another push for refugees to head towards Turkey.
Therefore, migrants’ journey towards Europe is not just a Turkish bargaining chip, it is the consequence of geopolitical mess in Middle East.