(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) ISTANBUL, Feb 19 (KUNA) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey would no longer afford burdens alone if a new refugee wave happens.
Speaking at the sixth Ministerial conference of the Budapest Process tasked with the migration file, Erdogan say keeping refugees inside Turkey borders is not the optimal way to solve the migration problem caused by Syria.
He added that building further walls of barbed wire is not the way to prevent illegal migration.
Migration is a humanitarian and political issue, which has a security dimension as well, he noted.
He told the conference that there are around 260 million migrants in the world, over 68 million displaced people, and more than 25 million refugees.
This number is growing every day due to some reasons, including famine, drought, civil wars, terrorist attacks, political unrest and others.
With continued violation of laws, conflicts and gap between the rich and the poor, migrants would seek new ways, Erdogan explained.
On March 18, 2016, Turkey signed an agreement with the EU on combating illegal migration and human trafficking.
Under the agreement, required measures are taken so as to ensure the return of non-Syrian migrants to their countries and holding shelters for Syrians as well as others.
Turkey, meanwhile, brandished several times that it would suspend the implementation of the agreement if the EU does not grant visa-free travel in Europe's Schengen area to the Turkish people. Turkey is hosting more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees.
The conference kicked off in Istanbul, with the participation of representatives of 52 countries, six observer states and 14 international organizations. (pickup previous) ta.hm
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