The Turkish and German governments have agreed to intensify cooperation against irregular migration while stressing that they will keep their doors open to asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in Syria and Iraq, Anadolu agency reported.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu assured Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint-Cabinet meeting in Berlin on Friday that Turkey would continue to take measures to decrease the refugee influx towards Western Europe.
"Turkey has already started taking measures in line with the EU-Turkey joint action plan agreed on Nov. 29," Davutoglu told a joint press conference with Merkel.
"A few days ago, we adopted a decision that allows Syrian refugees to work in Turkey. We have also started implementing visa requirements for Syrian nationals who are travelling from third countries," he said.
"We have increased our cooperation with [EU border agency] Frontex in the Aegean. We are planning to take additional measures in the near future together with working groups between Turkey and Germany," he added.
Davutoglu called on all EU member states to take responsibility, and underlined that a solution to the refugee crisis could only be achieved through genuine cooperation, by sharing the burden.
"The refugee crisis is not a crisis of Germany. It is not a crisis of Turkey. These are not crises we are exporting. On the contrary they are the reflections of conflicts in Syria and Iraq," he said.
Davutoglu's Berlin visit came amid growing divisions within the EU on ways to address the refugee crisis, as several member states, including Poland and Hungary, openly challenged Merkel's open-door policy for asylum seekers, and closed their frontiers to refugees.
'Merkel is not alone'
Davutoglu praised Chancellor Merkel for approaching the refugee crisis as a "humanitarian issue", rather than a "strategic risk". He dismissed criticisms in the media that claimed Merkel is increasingly becoming isolated in Europe.
"Neither Ms. Merkel, nor Germany, is alone on this issue. Turkey is determined to go hand-in-hand with Germany throughout this critical process," he said.
Davutoglu commended Merkel for showing leadership that would go down in history.
"At a time when in many parts of the world people have forgotten the humanitarian aspect of the Syrian refugee crisis, and when some have started to argue that there is no place for Muslims in Europe, Ms. Merkel has taken a step on behalf of the conscience of humanity, a step which will go down in history," Davutoglu said.
"Syrian refugees will never forget Germany's humanitarian stance, the history of international relations with record this humanitarian decision," he stressed.
Turkey and Germany are among the countries most affected by the refugee crisis triggered by the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Germany received 1.1 million refugees in 2015; at 428,000 Syrians were the largest group.
Turkey is currently hosting 2.5 million Syrian and 300,000 Iraqi refugees.
Davutoglu expressed hope that progress in Syria peace talks would help reduce the refugee influx from the war-torn country.
He underlined that only real political change in Syria would convince refugees to return to their country.
"If Assad will still remain in power, no Syrian refugee would want to return to Syria, because they would not believe that the conditions have really changed," he said.
Davutoglu underlined that Turkey and Germany will be in close coordination to achieve progress in Syria peace talks.
Turkish and German governments held their first ever joint-Cabinet meeting on Friday, for discussions that focused on the refugee crisis, the fight against terrorism and the conflict in Syria.
The Turkish delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Economy Minister Mustafa Elitas and EU Minister Volkan Bozkir.