EU refugee deal not possible if Turkey's demands not met: Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Visa waiver for Turkey's citizens was supposed to kick in on June 1.

Ankara

: Turkey's migration agreement with the European Union (EU) \"will not be possible\" if the EU does not keep its side of the deal on visa waivers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told France's Le Monde newspaper.

\"The European Union is not behaving in a sincere manner with Turkey,\" Erdogan said in comments published on Monday, noting that the visa waiver for Turkish citizens was supposed to kick in on June 1.

\"If our demands our not satisfied then the readmissions will no longer be possible,\" Erdogan said.

The European Union (EU) needs to come up with an alternative plan for tackling migration after Turkey threatened to back out of an accord to help stem the influx of refugees to Europe, Greece's migration minister told German daily Bild.

The 28-nation EU is dependent on Ankara to enforce the deal which has sharply cut the number of refugees leaving Turkish shores for Greece. Grappling with a major financial crisis, Greece struggled to cope with the influx. \"We are very concerned,\" Greek Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told mass-selling Bild. \"We need, in any case, a Plan B.\"