"A visa-free regime with the EU is a priority in our talks [on EU membership]. I’ll announce the good news on visa-free Europe as early as in 2016," Davutoglu said to the TGRT television channel.
EU leaders are meeting with Turkish officials for talks on the migrant crisis. Ankara will be asked to bolster border controls to curb refugee travel to Europe.
The Turkish government estimates that the country currently hosts about 2.5 million refugees, many of them from Syria. It is expected to ask for concessions from Brussels for retaining additional Syrian asylum seekers.
A diplomatic source in Brussels confirmed to RIA Novosti on Tuesday that Ankara planned to use the option of creating new refugee camps on its territory as a bargaining chip to press Europe to open its borders to Turkish travelers.
