Erdogan: 150,000 Migrants Left for Greece after Turkey Opened its Borders

About 150,000 migrants have left for Greece after Ankara decided to open its borders. This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Following the escalation of the situation in the Syrian region Idlib, Turkey says it can no longer stop migrant flows and opened its borders with the European Union. The migration flow threatens mainly the two neighboring EU Member States - Greece and Bulgaria.

"We have fed migrants for 9 years. Now they want to go to Europe. I always said: if you don't split the load with us, we will open the borders. They thought I was joking. But I opened them. Now our guests are leaving, we are not obliged to stop them. About 150,000 people have left for Greece." Erdogan told a parliamentary group of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

According to the Turkish leader, the migrants do not intend to stay in Greece.

"Open your borders for them, let them pass through your territory to the richer countries. But no one says anything about Greece committing crimes against humanity by attacking migrants. It's barbaric - to shoot at people who want to save their lives and build a future for their children," Erdogan added.