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| - A recap of the main developments following Turkey's decision to open its borders to allow migrants through to Europe, sparking fresh tensions, notably with its neighbour Greece. On February 28, Turkey threatens to let thousands of refugees cross into Europe as a way to pressure EU governments over the Syrian conflict. Turkey is already host to some four million refugees, 3.6 million of them Syrian. The decision to open its borders came after the death of 34 Turkish troops in northern Syria's Idlib where Moscow-backed Syrian regime forces are battling to retake the last rebel enclave. "What did we do yesterday? We opened the doors," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says on February 29. "We will not close those doors... Because the European Union should keep its promises." He was referring to a 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union to stop refugee flows in exchange for billions of euros in aid. In 2015, Greece became the main EU entry point for one million migrants, most of them refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. The pressure to cope with the influx split the EU. In response to the Turkish decision to open its doors, Greece on February 28 boosts its border patrols. Greek border guards at Kastanies, in the northeastern Evros region, say they prevent hundreds of migrants from entering the country from Turkey. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warns Greece will not tolerate "illegal entries" into Greece. The European Commission calls on Ankara to respect the 2016 deal. On February 29 Turkey says it will keep its borders with Europe open. Clashes erupt between Greek police officers firing tear gas canisters and migrants throwing stones. According to the Greek coastguard, around 180 migrants have arrived on Lesbos and Samos. Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu says nearly 50,000 migrants have left Turkey for Europe via the northwestern province of Edirne, bordering Greece. But the International Organization for Migration says its staff had observed "at least 13,000 people gathered along the 212-kilometre (130-mile) long border". On March 1, the EU's border protection agency Frontex says it is on "high alert" on Greece's borders with Turkey and deploying support to Greece. Athens says it has blocked thousands illegal migrants in 24 hours at its border with Turkey along the Evros river. The United Nations calls for calm and urges states to refrain from "excessive" force against migrants. An estimated additional 2,000 migrants arrive at the Pazarkule border gate. In the Aegean Sea, around 500 migrants land in some 10 vessels on the island of Lesbos, as the island's inhabitants torch a disused migrant centre. Greece goes onto a state of "maximum" alert to protect its borders and was suspending asylum applications by those who entered the country illegally. On March 2, Erdogan calls on Europe to shoulder its part of the migrant "burden". "After we opened the doors, there were multiple calls saying 'close the doors'," Erdogan says. "I told them 'it's done. It's finished. The doors are now open. Now, you will have to take your share of the burden'." fm-ber/eab-jmy/jv
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