Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stated that Turkey should not be allowed to blackmail the European Union by threatening to open its borders to thousands of refugees.
Kurz urged that illegal migration to the EU should be stopped at the external borders, especially in Greece.
He had said in previous statements that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was using the refugee crisis to put pressure on the EU in return for concessions.
Turkey has given the go ahead to refugees in its territory, many of them displaced Syrians, to leave for the Europe. This is in defiance of a 2016 deal to keep them inside of Turkey.
Turkish President Erdoğan has accused the European Union of not keeping its promises to Turkey regarding help in handling the influx of refugees.
President Erdoğan has repeatedly threatened to open the borders to refugees who seek to enter Europe.