Turkey lashes out at the U.N. over Border Demands

Turkish leaders have lashed out at the United Nations for urging them to open up their boarders for Syrian refugees when the agency and other countries have yet to find an effective way of stopping the bombings in Syria.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the U.N. Security Council and other countries "two-faced" at a news conference held in the Netherlands city of The Hague. Davutoglu stated that the international community that is placing the burden of the refugees onto Ankara has yet to move "a finger to solve the Syria crisis."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, reported by the New York Times, "What does the U.N. say? 'Open your border to the refugees.' What are you for then? What is your use? Is it that easy? We have taken 3 million Syrians and Iraqis into our home until now. How many did you take? Which country took them in?"

Erdogan added that Turkey has spent $10 billion on helping the refugees whereas the U.N. has only provided $455 billion in assistance.

Over the past few days, Turkey has been under pressure to take in thousands of refugees who have fled to the border gate at Oncupinar from Aleppo after pro-government forces, back by Russia airstrikes, have gone on the offensive to regain parts of the city from rebel fighters.

Although Turkey has been supplying the Syrians living in camps outside of the border with aid, the country did not immediately open the key border, prompting the UNHCR to demand Tuesday that Turkey let in "all civilians who are fleeing danger and seeking international protection as they have done since the start of this crisis." Turkey has taken in 2.5 million Syrian refugees since the civil war began in 2011.

Davutoglu has stated that Turkey will be allowing in refugees in a "controlled fashion." Suleyman Tapsiz, the governor of Kilis province, stated that Turkey would allow refugees in dire need of aid to cross first.

In the conference, Davutoglu also accused the Syrian and Russian governments of cleansing the country of people who do not support President Bashar al-Assad and stated that Turkey will try its hardest to combat it.

"With every refugee that we accept, in a way, we would be contributing to this ethnic cleansing aim," Davutoglu said. "If this is a strategy to change the demography in Syria, then we all have to be vigilant against it."

The Turkish leaders did not say that they would be refusing entry to the refugees.