Turkish Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu levelled indirect threats against the EU saying Turkey would open its borders and let thousands of refugees flood Europe, in an effort to put pressure on the EU to expedite the funds promise to Turkey in the context of the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration on Refugees.

The Turkish Minister accused Europe of being inconsistent with its obligations and said that if Turkey were to open Izmir (Smyrna), between 30,000 and 35,000 would cross into Europe every day. “Let’s see what would happen then. I’m not threatening Europe, I am just pointing something out”, Soylu added.

As he said, Europe was mired in the maze of bureaucracy, but Turkey continued to spend money and adhered to what has been agreed in the deal.

During his speech, the Turkish politician made reference to the Turkish political refugees who had fled the country after the failed July 15, 2016 coup, saying that 8,000 supporters of Fethullah Gulen had entered Greece via the refugee route.