Addressing the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, President Erdoğan said: "It is a responsibility of all countries to share the burden Turkey, on behalf of the international community, has been shouldering for the past 9 years. Formulations that would let refugees stay in their own homelands while enabling the ones in our country to return home should be implemented."

Underscoring that the international community is faced with a migration crisis of proportions rarely witnessed in history, President Erdoğan noted that there are nearly 260 million migrants, over 71 million displaced persons and more than 25 million refugees worldwide. Highlighting that these figures are on the rise due to such causes as famine, civil wars, terrorist attacks and political uncertainties as well as economic reasons, President Erdoğan said: "People are forced to migrate not just to have a better job or higher life standards, but also to maintain their lives, find subsistence and feed their children."

"Finding a sustainable solution to the refugee issue is contingent upon global steps to be taken"

Turkey, whose expenditure for refugees has surpassed 40 billion dollars, ranks first globally in terms of humanitarian aid ratio to national income, underlined President Erdoğan, adding, "It is evident that the refugee issue cannot be tackled by the efforts of just a few countries like ours which properly host these people. Finding a sustainable solution to this problem, which hurts the consciences, is contingent upon steps to be taken globally."

The President continued: "We see we are still far behind the desired level in terms of global commitment. We attach importance to the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees, forged last year. I hope the Global Refugee Forum will constitute an important step in the implementation process of the terms of the Compact. On the other hand, keeping refugees within our borders cannot be viewed as the only solution to the migration problem emanating from Syria. It is a responsibility of all countries to share the burden Turkey, on behalf of the international community, has been shouldering for the past nine years."

"The issue of irregular migration originating from Syria shouldn’t be viewed only from the perspective of security and interests" 

Emphasizing the need to come up with formulations that would enable refugees to stay in their homelands and the ones in Turkey to return home, President Erdoğan reiterated Ankara’s long-standing call for the formation of terror- and violence-free zones in Syria, and stated: "Many western friends of ours have, however, opted to view the issue of irregular migration originating from Syria from only the perspective of security and interests. They gave credence to the extremely wrong belief that barbed wires can safeguard Europe against refugee influx. We have even encountered such offers, including sinking the refugee boats, which would be remembered with shame in the future."

ILKHA