The Turkish president’s Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu, has predicted that mass migration across the Greek border will change Europe’s governments, bring down their economies, and collapse the stock market.
“In a certain period [of time], the number [of migrants crossing the border] will reach one million,” Soylu predicted in an appearance on the Tarafsız Bölge programme on CNN Türk.
“Europe cannot endure this, cannot handle this. This is not the first time I am talking about it.
“The governments in Europe will change, their economies will deteriorate, their stock markets will collapse,” he boasted.
“They are not aware of this. Let them do whatever they want to do.”
Breitbart London contacted the Turkish foreign ministry as well as the Turkish embassy in the United Kingdom in an attempt to clarify Soylu’s comments, which were reported by CNN and mass-circulation Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, among others, but had received no reply as of the time of publication.
The translation of the interior minister’s comments was confirmed to Breitbart London by sources including multiple Turkish-language journalists.
The Turkish government claim well over a hundred thousand migrants have already breached the Greek border — a claim disputed by the Greek government, who insist only a few hundred have managed to break through — after they announced they would not stop anyone who wanted to pass through their country to Europe at the end of February.
This was supposedly a reponse to the threat of a fresh migrant wave from Idlib, Syria, where Turkish forces and their jihadist proxies are facing off against the Russian-backed Syrian government and their Iranian and Hezbollah allies.
However, the Greek government says that a mere four per cent of the migrants they have detained are Syrian — and it is suggested even these are people who have had safe harbour in Turkey for some time, not refugees fleeing fresh fighting in Idlib.
It is widely believed that the Turkish government’s decision to open the borders was instead a form of punishment for what they see as insufficient support for their invasion of Syria as the confrontation with Assad and his allies had turned bloody — and indeed, the Turkish president has said a resolution of the ongoing border crisis is contingent on the situation in Idlib being resolved to his satisfaction.
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