Merkel hopeful about refugee deal with Turkey

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated that she is still optimistic regarding the success of the EU-Turkish deal on refugees, German daily Allgemeine Zeitung reported yesterday.

According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website, Merkel also expressed her worries regarding lifting immunity for Turkish MPs, as well as calling for Turkey to carry out some internal changes.

She added that she is to discuss the issues of the EU-Turkish deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, this week.

Merkel refused claims that the refugee deal is dependent only on Turkey, saying: “Simply, there is a balance of interests.”

Despite all the problems, she said, the agreement would succeed. She expressed her surprise and annoyance that some parties are happy with the potential failure of the deal, noting that removing obstacles would take a long time.

Merkel is due to take part in the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul which opens its doors today.