Merkel plans meeting with Erdogan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Turkey next month to call on President Recep Tayip Erdogan to respect a migration pact with the European Union, reacting to fears that a conflict in Syria could lead to a new wave of refugees, broadcast German media.

Erdogan warned on Sunday that Turkey, which has already received about 3.7 million Syrian refugees, will not be able to afford the new wave of migrants.

A German government spokesman refused to confirm the German media report today, Reuters reports.

According to the 2015 Pact, Turkey has accepted refugees moving towards Europe in exchange for financial support. The German government does not want a repeat of the immigrant crisis by 2015, when Germany opened its doors to a million people, most of whom sought refuge from the conflict in Syria.

According to Reuters, the number of migrants has recently begun to rise again with the efforts of Damascus and Moscow to obtain Idlib, the last large enclave held by rebels in Syria, home of about three million people.

Erdogan said Sunday that more than 80,000 migrants have moved to Turkey.