- Title: Erdogan urges resettling of 1 mln refugees in northern Syria "peace zone"
- Date: 17th December 2019
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (DECEMBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) WIDE WITH ERDOGAN SPEAKING
- Embargoed: 31st December 2019 11:51
- Keywords: German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass Global Refugee Forum Imran Khan Pakistan Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA004BAD6OUF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Tuesday for the resettlement of 1 million Syrian refugees in a "peace zone" in the northern part of their homeland, on a voluntary basis but in "a very short period of time".
Erdogan, addressing the Global Forum on Refugees in Geneva, criticised the European Union (EU) for failing to provide promised funding in full and world powers for investing more to protect Syria's oil fields than its children.
"We need to find a formula that will allow the refugees to remain in their motherlands and the ones who have already travelled to Turkey to be peacefully returned and resettled in their motherlands," said Erdogan.
His country, which hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population worldwide, has spent $4 billion over the past 9 years, he said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said in Geneva that millions of Muslims could flee India due to the curfew in the disputed territory of Kashmir and India's new citizenship law, creating "a refugee crisis that would dwarf other crises".
Khan appealed to other nations for help now, saying "once the crisis happens, it's much more difficult."
(Production: UNHCR, Marina Depetris, Ute Swart) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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