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| - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the leaders of Germany and France will visit Istanbul next week for talks on the latest migration crisis at Turkey's border with Europe, official media said Tuesday. "We will come together in Istanbul next Tuesday" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, Erdogan told journalists on his plane back from Brussels, the Anadolu news agency said. The French presidency did not confirm the summit when asked by AFP. Erdogan said it would be a four-party summit if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was able to join the talks. The decision at the end of February to re-open Turkey's border for refugees seeking to reach Europe sparked a row with Brussels, as well as harsh exchanges with neighbouring Greece. Turkey hosts some four million refugees -- most of them Syrians -- and is demanding greater assistance in dealing with the conflict in Syria and its humanitarian consequences. So far, Europe has said it will consider taking 1,500 child refugees, but has focused more on reinforcing Greece's borders. Erdogan sought support from both NATO and the European Union in Brussels on Monday, and despite apparent tensions in his meetings, he sounded upbeat on return. "We can start a new process with the EU," he said. "We have taken many steps and will continue to do so." He hoped for progress on a new migrant deal with Brussels by the time of the next EU leaders' summit on March 26. Turkey agreed in 2016 to prevent migrant departures in exchange for six billion euros and talks on building closer ties. But Ankara says it has not received all the money, and that other promises -- including improved visa and trade rules -- have not been met. Meanwhile, Erdogan urged Athens to open its doors to refugees. "This is my proposal to Greece: open the doors. Those people will not stay in Greece permanently and let them cross into other countries in Europe," he said. Turkey was prompted to re-open the borders for refugees as it faced a potential new influx from Syria, where regime forces, backed by Russia and Syria, have been pushing to retake the last rebel province of Idlib on the Turkish border. Although Turkey and Russia agreed a ceasefire for Idlib last week, previous peace deals have proved temporary. Erdogan said the ceasefire was currently holding. "It's has been four days. I hope it will continue like this and turn into a permanent truce." Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed Tuesday that Turkey had requested Patriot missile defences from NATO. The issue has been complicated by Turkey's controversial decision to buy Russian S-400 missile defences. fo/er/bp
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