Tuesday 13 / May / 2025
Istanbul: Turkey has made vital contributions to the security of Europe and has helped shelter migrants, state media reported the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.
"We have made invaluable contributions to the security of the entire European continent, particularly to the Balkan countries. However, we did not see the support and humanitarian attitude that we expect from our European friends during this difficult time," Erdogan told a summit in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Erdogan made the remarks at the South East European Countries Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit in the capital Sarajevo, where stability and security and cooperation in the Balkans was discussed.
He said the region faces a wave of irregular migration from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa.
"Even while European countries can’t reach agreement on refugee quotas, Turkey now hosts more than 4 million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians," Erdogan said.
He added Turkey had spent over $37 billion for the Syrians alone, according to state media.
Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011 that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and left more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.
