EU: Turkey must keep border open to Syrian refugees

Top EU officials on Saturday reminded Turkey of its international obligations to keep its frontiers open to refugees as thousands fleeing a new Assad offensive in Syria remained camped out along its southern border, Business Recorders reported.

Up to 20,000 Syrians may be stranded on the border, officials say, trying to get into Turkey.

"The Geneva convention is still valid which states that you have to take in refugees," EU Enlargement and Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said as he went into talks on the migrant crisis with EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from countries seeking EU membership, including Turkey.

Naharnet reported that Turkey was preparing Saturday for a new influx of refugees fleeing a major offensive by Syria’s Russian-backed regime, with tens of thousands of Syrians camped out near a closed border crossing.