Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the country cannot handle the new wave of Syrian refugees, warning that if violence in Syria’s northwest is not stopped, European countries will feel the impact of such an influx.

Iran Press/Asia: Turkey hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees and fears another wave from the Idlib region, where up to 3 million Syrians live in the last significant rebel-held area.

Speaking at an awards ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday night, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said more than 80,000 people were currently on the way from Idlib to Turkey.

“If the violence against the people of Idlib does not stop, the number will increase even more. In that case, Turkey will not carry such a migrant burden on its own,” Erdogan stated.

“The negative impact of the pressure we will be subjected to will be something that all European nations, especially Greece, will also feel,” he said.

The Turkish President reiterated that a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis would become inevitable.

Erdogan has previously threatened to “open the gates” for migrants to Europe unless Turkey got more support in hosting the refugees.

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