Turkey is not considering cancelling an agreement with the European Union to readmit migrants who had previously reached the bloc illegally from Turkish territory, the Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.
"It is now the EU's turn to fulfill its responsibilities. I believe it will act in line with the deal as Turkey has done so much for it. Cancellation of the deal is not on our agenda, and we will continue to do our part for the deal to succeed", Kurtulmus told reporters after a meeting of cabinet ministers.
"The drop in the number of refugees arriving in Europe is clear evidence that Turkey is taking the deal seriously", he added, warning that the deal should not be an issue of domestic politics in EU countries, Reuters reports.
The deal between Brussels and Ankara to stem the flow of the illegal migrants into Europe has been hampered by disagreements over Turkey's counterterrorism law, which the European Union wants to see brought in line with the EU standards.
Turkey has accused Europe of throwing up new hurdles to fully implementing the deal, which is meant to give the Turks a visa free travel to the European Union in return for curbing the illegal migration.
Turkey's government says it has already met the EU's criteria for a visa free travel and that it will not change its antiterrorism laws any further.