West has failed to deal with migration, says Turkish minister

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - The West has been unsuccessful in dealing with the migration wave, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Friday

"The West has been a disgrace to the world on the issue of migration. It has lost face with its lack of vision, cruelty and incompetence," Soylu said at a migration meeting in Türkiye's southern Antalya province.

However, Türkiye has implemented a straightforward immigration policy from the start, he said.

"We were fighting against terrorism, while the US and Europe were making great efforts to establish a terrorist state at our border. We managed this process without making people suffer," he added.

In the fight against illegal migration, Türkiye has blocked the entrance of 2.7 million people at the border since 2016, the minister said.

"By year-end of 2022, the number of illegal migrants we held was 285,000, and a total of 130,195 illegal migrants were deported in the last 12 months," Soylu added.

Also since 2011, Türkiye has banned a total of 111,000 people from 150 countries from entering the country, he said.

Türkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants wanting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.