(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Brussel 28 Jumada I1437 AH 08 March2016 SPA -- European Union leaders hoped early Tuesday they reached the outlines for a possible deal with Ankara to return thousands of migrants to Turkey and said they were confident a full agreement could be reached at a summit next week dpa reported.
After months of disagreements and increasing bickering among the 28 EU nations French President Francois Hollande said that "the summit has created hope that the refugee question can be dealt with through solidarity in Europe and efficiency in cooperation with Turkey."
All eyes centered now on March 17 and the start of a two-day summit to finalize the commitment and clinch an iron-clad deal which the leaders hope would allow for a return to normalcy at their borders by the end of the year.
Turkey said it would be willing to make greater efforts to contain irregular migration. "The truth is that Turkey came to the summit with attractive proposals and I believe that surprised many" said Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras.
EU President Donald Tusk said that after a week of shuttle diplomacy in and around Turkey "we have a breakthrough now."
-- SPA
10:36 LOCAL TIME 07:36 GMT
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