Incompetent Liz Truss thought Turkey could take Rwanda’s place

Liz Truss leaks potential plans involving another sovereign state without consulting that state. Once more, she demonstrates her ignorance in the field of diplomacy and international relations and, thereby, her incompetence as a foreign secretary.

That, also, demonstrates her irresponsibility and opportunistic dishonesty in promising things she cannot deliver in the event of becoming prime minister.

On Saturday 16/07/2022, it was reported in The Times that the foreign secretary — who is in the running to become next Conservative prime minister — would like to send unwanted asylum seekers to Turkey.

Liz Truss’s tentative plan was shot down by the Ankara government within a matter of hours of it being floated. They warned that Turkey would not become a “refugee camp or border guard” for another country.

It would have been the same or similar to the deal struck in spring with Rwanda, which has taken over £100mn from the British government in return for taking unwanted refugees who cross the English Channel in small boats.

Turkey, a country of 85mn people, already has the largest refugee population in the world, including 3.7mn people who have fled the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

“We hope these claims relating to Ms Truss in the press are unfounded,” said Tanju Bilgiç, the Turkish foreign ministry’s official spokesman, in a statement on Saturday.

“It is out of the question for our nation — the world’s largest host of refugees for the last eight years — to take on a greater burden at the request of a third country and, furthermore, to contribute to an approach that is incompatible with international rules on the right to asylum.”

He added: “Turkey will not become a refugee camp or border guard for any other country, nor will it in any way assume the international obligations of a third country.”

Liz Truss’s campaign team confirmed that “Liz supports the Rwanda policy and supports extending it to other countries.” All of the candidates for the Conservative leadership have promised to keep the controversial Rwanda policy, which has been widely criticised by charities, human rights groups and bishops.

More than 14,000 refugees have crossed the channel in small boats so far this year. Despite the deal with the Kigali government no refugees have yet been sent to Rwanda, in part due to successful legal challenges.

Turkey struck a €6bn deal with the EU in 2016 as Brussels sought to stave off a repeat of Europe’s 2015 migration crisis. Despite that, the Erdoğan regime never ceases pushing some of them across the Greek borders which are at the same time the EU borders, threatening at the same time to do so on a larger scale as part of its blackmailing tactics.

In fact, Turkey’s large refugee population has become a source of intense public anger as households are struggling with almost 80 per cent inflation and a plunge in the value of the lira.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who faces a challenging bid for re-election in a contest that must be held before June 2023, is under pressure to join the country’s main opposition parties in pledging to send refugees back to their country, Syria.

During her visit to Ankara last month for meetings with senior Turkish officials, Liz Truss used the trip to describe Turkey as an “important partner for the UK”, citing energy, defence and security as key areas of co-operation.