MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Council president also expressed solidarity with Turkey condemning the recent car bomb explosion in Ankara that prevented Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu from attending the Brussels summit.
"We agreed that our joint action plan with Turkey remains a priority and we must do all we can to succeed. This is why we have the intention to organize a special meeting with Turkey in the beginning of March," Tusk told reporters.
In November 2014, Turkey and the European Union approved a joint plan to cut the influx of migrants into the 28-nation bloc. Turkey is to help protect EU borders, and is expected to agree to resettle refugees that have managed to get to Europe from Turkey. EU member-states are expected to provide Ankara with over $3 billion and give impetus to negotiations for Turkey's accession to the European Union.
"This evening, or this morning, we confirmed that there is no alternative to good, intelligent and wise cooperation with Turkey," European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker told reporters at the joint press conference with Tusk after the first day of the Brussels summit.
Turkey is a key transit country for thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and heading for Europe.
Turkey currently hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees – over 2 million according to UN estimates.
