Turkish, German leaders discuss Syria, refugee crisis

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

Top Turkish and German leaders have discussed the upcoming mini-summit that will take place between Turkey and eight EU countries on Dec. 17 in Brussels, where they will discuss how to best handle the growing refugee crisis.According to a statement released by the office of the Prime Ministry, German Chancellor Angela Merkel phoned Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu late on the afternoon of Dec. 5 to exchange views about bilateral issues, the refugee crisis and Syria.The statement underlined that the two leaders also exchanged views about Davutoğlu’s upcoming meeting with a number of EU leaders on the margins of the EU Council summit on Dec. 17. The meeting, which will likely bring together eight countries who have similar positions on receiving more Syrian refugees with Davutoğlu, will give the parties an opportunity to review ongoing cooperation and coordination on these matters.The eight EU member states involved in the meeting are Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Sweden, Finland and Greece.