Turkey's demand 'legitimate,' German politician says


Elmar Brok, a leading member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, told the Huffington Post now that Turkey has fulfilled its part in the refugee deal, it expects the EU to fulfill its part, which he said is "legitimate." Brok said the EU should use the remaining two months to negotiate the EU-Turkey refugee deal, which was signed on March 18. Foreign Minister Mevlet Çavuşoğlu said on Sunday that Ankara will give the EU until October to sort out visa liberalization, which will allow Turkish citizens to travel to the EU's Schengen zone without a visa.Speaking to the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Çavuşoğlu said that if Turkish citizens are not granted visa liberalization by October, then Ankara will stop preventing Syrians from trying to get to Europe in accordance with the Readmission Agreement signed with the EU on March 18.Asserting that it is not a threat, Çavuşoğlu said that Ankara has adopted "a devoted attitude" concerning the Readmission Agreement. "If visa-free travel is not granted to Turkish citizens, then we will have to step back from the Readmission Agreement and the March 18 consensus," Çavuşoğlu said, adding that Ankara is expecting an exact date for visa liberalization.