- Title: SPAIN-STEINMEIER Turkey key to resolving migrant crisis - German foreign minister
- Date: 9th October 2015
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (OCTOBER 9, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, AND SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER, JOSE MANUEL GARCIA MARGALLO, ENTERING ROOM / STEINMEIER SHAKING HANDS WITH SPANISH OFFICIALS STEINMEIER AND MARGALLO SHAKING HANDS MARGALLO SHAKING HANDS WITH GERMAN OFFICIALS STEINMEIER AND MARGALLO GOING UPSTAI
- Embargoed: 24th October 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- Country: Spain
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA8U1C7TLUOMR7L89400BZ5FV25
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkey has a crucial role in resolving the migrant crisis in Europe, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday (October 9), during a visit to Spain.
"The best thing of this debate is certainly the fact that Turkey is sitting at the table. Because Turkey is the key country when it comes to migration. And we can't achieve what is necessary without better cooperation between Turkey and the European Union, and that is to influence the migrant dynamics in such a way that the influx (of migrants into Europe) will subside," Steinmeier told a news conference in Madrid.
Almost 400,000 people have arrived in Greece this year, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR has said, with most have rapidly headed north towards Germany.
Commenting on the Syrian crisis, the German foreign minister said the conflict had "gained even more complexity by Russia's military engagement". Moscow launched air strikes on Syria on September 30.
"But that must not stop us to look for solutions, in spite of it. The Arab partners as well as Russia and the U.S. must be involved in the talks. And a solution is not possible without Turkey and Iran," Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier said peace in Syria could not be achieved through military means alone.
"We must not lose sight of the fact that the military fight against those (militant) groups is necessary but peace for Syria cannot be achieved that way alone if we do not combine it with a political process."
He urged talks between Washington and Moscow to resolve the crisis in Syria.
"It seems to me that despite the military footprint that Russia leaves in Syria at the moment, the common interest between Russia and the U.S. still exists. And I plead very much for the continuation of talks between Moscow and Washington about that issue."
Steinmeier had previously warned against Russia's intervention in Syria.
More than 250,000 people have died since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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