Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly threatened Europe that he would open the way for refugees and migrants to cross into the continent, if Ankara did not receive sufficient international support in the management of the Syrian refugees.

Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan also said Turkey is determined to create a “security zone” in northeastern Syria in partnership with the United States in late September, but is ready to act alone if necessary.

“If we have any say in the eastern Mediterranean today, this was due to the purchase of seismic research vessels. In the past we rented them. A third drill ship may also join the other two. In the eastern Mediterranean we do examine who says what. We look at what we say! Right now our ships are in the area. All of our frigates, our corvettes are on standby and our aircraft is on standby. No one can deprive us of our rights. This is where the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ has rights, and we as a guarantor power, have the right to speak,” the Turkish president said.

He continued by pointing out that in Turkey there were 3,650,000 refugees. “Now, Indlib has occurred. We also have those who come from Afghanistan. But you should know that this course will lead us to different points. What is this point? Will this happen (the security zone) or we will have to open our gates. Either support us or you will misunderstand us. We can only;y tolerate so much. We cannot bear this burden alone. You should also see what it’s like to carry that weight. We have not received the necessary support from the EU, and the rest of the world and in order to get the support we may have to do that,” he said.