Facing increasing pressure from her own citizens, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany announced an agreement whereby the European Union will provide Turkey with a payment of 3 billion euros, about $3.2 billion, as an inducement for Ankara’s cooperation in stemming the flow of Syrian immigrants to Europe.
Speaking to reporters late Sunday evening, Merkel said the deal would help “keep people in the region,” and out of Europe.
At the press conference, a Kurdish journalist ask Merkel if she had approached Turkey on the subject of human rights. The Kurds, a minority population fighting in the American-led coalition against ISIS, face crippling persecution in Turkey, with a Kurdish leader shot in broad daylight [3]over the weekend. “Not really,” Merkel responded.