Turkey has spent over 37 billion dollars for Syrians: Erdoğan

Turkey President Recep Tayip Erdogan attends the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Turkey has spent over $37 billion for Syrians, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday.

"The pledges made to Turkey must be met," he said during the South East European Countries Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, where stability and security and cooperation among the Balkans were discussed.

The EU had pledged €6 billion ($7.44 billion) in funding for the refugees, and promised to mobilize the second €3 billion ($3.72 billion) tranche by the end of 2018.

Syria has been locked in a devastating conflict since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected brutality.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.

Underlining that Turkey has taken measures to prevent illegal migration in the Aegean Sea, Erdogan said Turkey had mostly prevented humanitarian tragedy in the region.

Turkey's contribution to European security 'invaluable'

Despite Turkey’s vast contributions to Europe’s security, including through helping stem and shelter a wave of migration, the expected help from European countries has failed to materialize, President Erdoğan added.

"We have made invaluable contributions to the security of the entire European continent, particularly to the Balkan countries. However, we did not see the support and humanitarian attitude that we expect from our European friends during this difficult time."

"The number of illegal migrants that were caught in our country during 2005-2017 exceeded over 1 million," he added.

Turkey has been the main route for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, the start of the Syrian civil war.

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