Top EU official in Turkey to discuss Belarus migration crisis

European Commission Vice President Margaritas Schinas said Turkey shares the goal of stopping smuggling networks. Turkish Airlines has been accused of fueling the migrant crisis at the Belarus-Poland border.

AL-MONITOR Staff
AL-MONITOR Staff
Iraq migrants
Iraqi migrants arrive at Baghdad International Airport on Nov. 18, 2021. The Iraqi government has begun repatriation flights for citizens stranded on the border of Belarus and Poland who voluntarily want to return to Iraq. Thousands of migrants from across the Middle East continue to camp out on the Belarus-Poland border amid freezing conditions in an attempt to cross into Poland. — Taha Hussein Ali/Getty Images

A European Union leader is in Turkey to address the crisis on the Belarus-Poland border. 

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas arrived in Ankara yesterday, and continued holding meets today. The European Commission is the EU’s executive body. Schinas called migration a “joint priority” following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. 

“In focus: halting the abuse of migrants by smuggling networks and the blatant instrumentalisation of people  - a shared objective of the EU and Turkey,” Schinas tweeted Thursday. 

Cavusoglu added that the two discussed migration in Belarus specifically, according a tweet. 

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