Erdogan up to his old ways.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again threatened that migrants will resume crossing into Europe if visa-free travel demands are not met.
It has been a turbulent week in Turkey after the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and the continued consolidation of power of President Erdogan may be putting the migrant deal between the European Union (EU) and Turkey in danger.
While this is not the first time that the Turkish president has threatened to scrap the deal, due to the resignation of the Prime Minister and a June deadline for visa-free travel looming it may be more serious this time.
Burhan Kuzu, a deputy in Mr Erdogan’s AKP party, has warned European leaders that they should consider their decisions carefully, remarking on Twitter, “when they pick the wrong decision, we will release the refugees,” N-TV reports.
The EU made clear that visa-free travel could only happen if 72 conditions were met by the Turks, which the former Prime Minister had agreed to. Now that the Prime Minister is gone and Erdogan looks toward a referendum to potentially merge the powers of both offices, the future of the deal seems ever more uncertain.