No ‘bargaining’ over refugees in EU deal: Turkey PM

BRUSSELS, March 18: Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu warned there would be no “bargaining” over the plight of refugees as he met EU leaders on Friday in bid to clinch a deal to curb the unprecedented numbers reaching Europe.
Davutoglu threw down the gauntlet to the leaders who overnight forged a common position including “red lines” that they will present to him at talks in Brussels led by European Council President Donald Tusk.
“For Turkey, the refugee issue is not an issue of bargaining but an issue of values, humanitarian values as well as European values,” Davutoglu told reporters as he arrived for the summit.
Underscoring tension with Brussels, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Europeans of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) days after a bombing in Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels that killed 35 people.
“European countries are paying no attention, as if they are dancing in a minefield,” Erdogan said in Ankara.
Turkey has demanded an acceleration of its long-stalled bid for EU membership, billions of euros in extra aid and visa-free travel in return for taking back all irregular migrants coming to Greece, the main entry point to Europe.
Chief Turkish negotiator Volkan Bozkir drove the point home when he told his country’s pro-government Sabah newspaper that the EU had to accept all the deal’s terms or it would be “off the table”.
Many European Union states have expressed concerns about Ankara’s human rights record, including its treatment of the Kurds and a crackdown on critics of the government.
The United Nations and rights groups fear the deal could violate international law that forbids the mass deportation of refugees.
Amnesty International set up a sign outsid the summit venue: “Don’t trade refugees”. EU leaders agreed late Thursday on what was described as a common position but gave no new details about the proposals.- AFP