Erdogan says EU is not honest

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the EU of not paying its way under a deal to send Syrian refugees back across the Aegean.

The president said the EU had promised $3 billion, but so far only paid a nominal $1 million to $2 million, the Express Tribune reports.

“The (European) governments are not honest,” Erdogan told German public television station ARD.

“Three million Syrians, or people from Iraq, are now in Turkey,” he said. “The EU has not kept its promises on the matter.”

Erdogan estimated the refugees, many of whom have fled the devastating five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria, have cost Turkey $12 billion.

Ankara and Brussels signed a controversial deal in March, in which Turkey agreed to take Syrian migrants landing on Greek islands in exchange for political and financial incentives.

The deal included billions of euros in aid and visa-free travel for Turks in Europe, but ties have been strained by Erdogan’s massive crackdown after a failed coup this month.

Earlier, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that if Turkey reintroduces the death penalty, it would stop the EU accession process immediately.