Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3
By Anakhanum Hidayatova - Trend:
The refugee problem in Europe is so acute that the European Union is really ready to pay Turkey for protection of the EU borders, said Alexander Sotnichenko, associate professor at the St. Petersburg State University.
Sotnichenko, a turkologist and holder of a PhD in history, told Trend Feb. 3 that it is quite possible that Turkey in February will receive funds for support of refugees.
Currently, Turkey is hosting more than two million Syrian refugees on its territory. The Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread across the provinces and cities of Turkey.
In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria. Ankara has so far spent $8 billion to upkeep the Syrian refugees.
"The sides also reached a principal agreement, but negotiations still continue," noted Sotnichenko. "The important thing is that how well Turkey is really ready to guarantee the impermeability of its borders, especially sea borders."
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