Turkey spends more than $223 mn for Syrian refugees

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said the Turkish government transferred 400 million Turkish liras (approx. 223 million USD) to the Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) for Syrian refugees living in Turkey and that “so far, more than 380 million TL (approx. 212 million USD) have been spent”. Turkish Anadolo News Agency (AA) quoted Babacan as saying that the aid to the Syrians have not (negatively) affected our general financial posture. Turkey’s helping the Syrian citizens is an humanitarian duty, Babacan underlined. “While the international community is expected to extend support to the Syrian refugees, we have not yet seen much international assistance,” Babacan indicated.