Merkel to Turkey as Syria offensive brings more refugees

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other Turkish officials for talks on reducing the influx of migrants to Europe, the Associated Press reported.

Turkey, a key country on the migrant route to Europe, is central to Merkel’s diplomatic efforts to reduce the flow, PanARMENIAN.Net reported.

Chancellor Angela Merkel returns her focus to Turkey this week as a fresh offensive in Syria spurs another wave of refugees that threatens to force her to back down and close German borders, Bloomberg Business reported.

With domestic pressure building for Merkel to follow other European Union countries and turn asylum seekers away, the chancellor will travel to Ankara to urge the Turkish government to make good on pledges to do more to halt the flow of refugees bound for Europe.

“The most important issue is that we implement the migration agenda with Turkey,” Peter Altmaier, Merkel’s chief of staff, said in an interview with Germany’s ARD television Sunday. “We expect Turkey to take action against illegal migration” across the Aegean to Greece. “In return, we have to help Turkey to handle its own refugee situation better.”

Merkel looks increasingly isolated as intensified fighting in Syria prompts ever more civilians to flee and most of her fellow EU leaders refuse to share the refugee burden.

With everything pointing to an upsurge in the numbers seeking asylum in Europe, the net is tightening around the chancellor as her efforts to mitigate the influx are undermined by factors outside her control.

Merkel, whose country let in more than a million asylum seekers last year, will be holding talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the Turkish capital on Monday, Al Jazeera reported.