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No exact data on number of refugees in Turkey, says Russia’s EU envoy

The Russian envoy stated that the money the EU sends to support refugees goes to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey

RHODES /Greece/, October 14. /TASS/. No one has accurate data on the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told TASS.

"No one knows exactly how many Syrian refugees are in Turkey. Over the years of the conflict, half a million children have been born to the families in Turkey and other countries. The money that Europeans send through humanitarian channels does not go to Syria, because they have no contacts with the official authorities there," he said.

According to Chizhov, the money goes partially to Lebanon, which, with a population of 4.5 million people, accommodates one million Syrian refugees, and Jordan. However, the bulk of it goes to Turkey. "Turkey’s population today is approximately 80 million people, which is comparable with Germany, so that’s a completely different ratio. This money today is actually spent on the assimilation of Syrian refugees — to finance schools and Turkish language textbooks," the diplomat noted.

On October 10, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the European Union for condemning Ankara’s military operation in Syria. During his speech, the Turkish leader threatened to send millions of refugees to Europe, if it called that operation an incursion.