Ankara, (IINA) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras pledged further cooperation on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after an EU-Turkey summit heralded as the first step in resolving the refugee crisis, Anadolu Agency reported.
Davutoglu and Tsipras co-chaired a joint Cabinet meeting in the coastal city of Izmir, western Turkey. Davutoglu said that Turkish nationals will be allowed to travel in the EU without a visa starting from June, which was part of the concessions agreed by Turkey for accepting the return of “irregular” migrants from the EU.
Ankara has requested 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) to meet the needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey and asked for its EU accession process to be fast-tracked.
The Turkish prime minister also confirmed that for every Syrian refugee returned to Turkey, another would be resettled in the EU from Turkey. The plan is aimed at tackling people smugglers who send refugees on dangerous sea journeys from Turkey to Greece.
He stressed that the Aegean Sea should not be a “drama sea” but somewhere where “happiness is shared”.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 440 people have lost their lives in the Aegean since the start of the year.
Davutoglu outlined some travel ventures between the two countries, including a high-speed rail link between Izmir, Istanbul and Thessaloniki; the start of direct flights from Ankara to Athens; as well as a ferry service connecting Izmir and Thessaloniki.
AG/IINA
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