Brussels, 04/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 4 February, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that 300,000 Syrians were ready to take refuge in Turkey, as the Syrian regime, shouldered by Russia, conducts a new military offensive in the region of Aleppo.
“There are 10,000 waiting at the door because of the attacks at Aleppo, and 60,000 to 70,000 in the region of Aleppo are now moving to Turkey… but there are now 300,000 ready to move”, Davutoglu said in London, where he was taking part in the donors' conference for funding for Syria. Although Turkey has already taken in about 2.5 million Syrian refugees on its territory, Davutoglu said that these people were welcome “because we have much bigger hearts than our budget”.
The previous day, the European Union gave its agreement to financing €3 billion to help Turkey better host these refugees and avoid them deciding to try their luck in Europe (see EUROPE 11481). On Thursday, the EU announced a new €3 billion package to support the countries bordering Syria in hosting the refugees (see other article).
On Wednesday, due to the offensive of al-Assad's army on Aleppo, the United Nations envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, announced the suspension of the peace talks - until 25 February - in Geneva between the Syrian regime and opposition. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)