MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Russia’s permanent representative to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said Friday he doubts that Turkey plans to close the border with Syria.
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- Russian diplomat: UN informed on Turkey’s violations of Syria's sovereignty
- Moscow accuses Turkey of trying to change ethnic configuration in northern Syria
- Russian general: New militants regularly arrive to Syria’s Latakia province from Turkey
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Chizhov told the Rossiya 24 television channel that the EU and the United States are beginning to agree with the Russian Federation and start realizing that the Turkish-Syrian border needs to be closed, as "via that border, a flow of militants goes in one direction, and in the other direction goes illegal oil and militants return to European countries."
"It would be na·ve to think that Turkey is pulling in its troops toward the [Turkish-Syrian] border to block it," he said.
Chizhov said the EU-Turkish relations are "a rather complicated issue," with negotiating processes on many issues connected with Turkey being protracted, in particular, the issue of Turkey’s admission to the EU.
"On the other hand, Turkey is not hurrying to establish migrant accommodation centers. The EU has promised… €3 billion to the Turks, but it is not hurrying to open up its purse," he said.