Merkel knows Erdo?an means what he says

The alleged minutes of a conversation about the Syrian refugee flow between Turkish President Tayyip Erdo?an, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Council President Donald Juncker have appeared in the Turkish media, quoted from Greek websites where they first appeared. 

In sum, during the conversation, which took place during the G-20 Summit in Antalya last November, Erdo?an told Juncker and Tusk that they should be grateful that the Turkish government is still trying to hold the Syrian refugees in Turkey. He said he hoped that the EU would share the responsibility - following an earlier visit in October by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - otherwise Turkey could hire buses and help the refugees make their way over the border into EU countries.

Perhaps the leaker's intention was to show how arrogant Erdo?an was in his dealings with EU officials, thus showing how disturbing Turkish demands can be for European ears. But in Turkey it worked the other way around. Many Turks apparently agree with Erdo?an, believing that this is the right way to deal with "Western hypocrisy." That is particularly the case as EU officials, who up until a few weeks ago were asking Turkey to seal its border with Syria, have now started to ask Ankara to reopen it after a new refugee wave piled up on the border following the recent Russia and Iran-backed Syrian army advance on Aleppo.

Erdo?an confirmed his words leaked in the minutes on Feb. 11 during a public speech in Ankara. "There is nothing in there that I'm ashamed of," he said. On the contrary, he said the minutes confirmed that Turkey is doing the right thing. Erdo?an also confirmed the bus angle - after all, what is stopping Turkey from waving goodbye to the refugees as they travel on to...