Ankara switches migration summit to teleconference, Erdogan to hold talks with French & German leaders

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold talks about solving a brewing migration crisis, with French and German leaders next week, by teleconference rather than at a summit as originally planned, according to a Turkish official.

The decision comes as countries grapple with the spread of Covid-19. Erdogan has postponed his own foreign visits for an unspecified period of time, Reuters reported, citing his spokesman.

Earlier this week, Erdogan said he would convene a summit on the migrant issue, to be held in Istanbul on March 17 with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and possibly British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Turkish president has called for updating the 2016 migration deal between Ankara and the European Union, and Turkey’s customs union with the bloc, and also to revive Ankara’s stalled EU accession process.