Turkey’s Islamist President Makes Fresh Threat to Flood Europe with Migrants

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OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

During a recent visit to Hungary, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again threatened to open the gates for Syrians to head to Europe in large numbers.

President Erdogan made the comments during a meeting with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying that he would “open the gates” to potentially millions of migrants if the international community did not provide Turkey with support and aid, France24 reports.

“Whether or not support comes, we will continue to host our guests, but only up to a point,” Erdogan said, and added: “If we see that this does not work, just like I said before, we will have no option left but to open the gates. If we open the gates, it is obvious where they will go.”

Prime Minister Orban said that Hungary was willing to help with the proposed “safe zone” along the northern Syrian border and noted, “Without Turkey, you cannot stop migration headed for Europe… As a consequence of this, Hungary is a strategic partner of Turkey in security and migration questions.”

Last month, the anti-mass migration Hungarian leader said that Hungary could go as far as to use force if Turkey were to open the floodgates and allow an estimated 3.6 million migrants to head for Europe.

“If Turkey sets off further hundreds of thousands on top of this, then we will need to use force to protect the Hungarian border and the Serbian-Hungarian frontier and I do not wish for anyone that we should need to resort to that,” Orban said.

President Erdogan has repeatedly invoked the threat of opening the gates to Europe, including last month when he demanded the European Union stop condemning Turkish military operations in Northern Syria.

“I say it again. If you try to label this operation as an invasion, it’s very simple: we will open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees your way,” he said.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com

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