The urgency of Europe‘s refugee crisis has prompted a high-profile visit to Turkish President Erdogan. German Chancellor Merkel can expect to receive a long Turkish wishlist.Istanbul (dpa) - European leaders have rarely visited Turkey since the 2013 crackdown on Gezi park protesters, in a quiet expression of the European Union‘s long-simmering frustrations with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.On Sunday, though, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Erdogan for the first time since February 2013, for talks about how to deal with the refugee crisis in Europe.For Erdogan, the visit can be regarded as a boost just two weeks ahead of Turkey‘s November 1 general election, when Turkish voters will decide his own political fate.Erdogan - recently dubbed as the "Anatolian version of Russian President Vladimir Putin" in Foreign Policy magazine - has for quite some time heard nothing but criticism from the Europeans.Now, suddenly, the EU is coming, hat in hand, to seek his help as Brussels recognizes that Turkey can play a key role in dealing with the refugee crisis.A majority of refugees travel via Turkey, which so far has taken in more than 2 million people from Syria alone. Whether the flow can be stemmed depends especially on the will of the political leadership in Ankara.Beril Dedelioglu, EU affairs minister in the current transitional government, told the Star newspaper before she took office in September: "[Refugees] should leave if they want to. Their emigration should not be Turkey‘s problem, but rather for Greece, Bulgaria and the EU."Western security experts generally reject the claim that Turkey - with the second-biggest army in the NATO alliance - cannot secure its own borders.The first hint of tighter security measures came when Ankara recently said that the Turkish Coast Guard had "rescued" 60,000 refugees over the last six months - probably meaning that their onward journey into the EU had been prevented.Under its agreement with the EU, Turkey will be obligated only as of October 2017, to take back from the EU refugees from third countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.For its cooperation, Turkey is expected to present a long wishlist to the EU, including Ankara‘s request Thursday at the EU summit for 3 billion euros (3.43 billion dollars) in financial support.For Turkey, a high priority is that visa requirements for its citizens travelling to the Schengen accord countries be lifted as soon as possible. If Merkel were to send signals of agreement about this during her visit, it could be turned into political capital by Erdogan and Premier Ahmet Davutoglu during the election campaign.It would be a further victory for Erdogan if Turkey were to be classified as a safe country of origin, which German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has been urging, despite the conflict raging since July with the banned Turkish Workers Party (PKK). Civil war-like conditions again dominate Turkey‘s south-eastern region, and scarcely a day goes by without further deaths.Classification as a safe country of origin would give Erdogan‘s rule a seal of approval as a functioning democracy, which his political opponents would view as a bad joke.The opposition believes Erdogan chose to call new elections in November because his Islamic conservative AKP party fell short of an absolute majority in the June general elections. Falling short again could be the beginning of the end of Erdogan‘s rule.Before the trip, Merkel announced that the issue of human rights would be on the agenda during her visit."On Sunday all the issues will be on the table," Merkel said in a government statement.Issues will include the conflict in Syria, visa restrictions, safe country of origin status, third-country status, the joint struggle against terrorism, and human rights inside Turkey, she said.Turkey has long been calling for a safe zone for refugees inside Syria, though it is unclear how such a zone could be created and defended. At NATO headquarters, there is no sign of readiness to contemplate the idea.Long before the refugee crisis, Ankara has been pushing for progress in its stalled EU membership negotiations. There is no sign of Merkel reconsidering her opposition to full EU membership for Turkey, though it would score points with Erdogan.Erdogan grumbled Friday about speculation before last week‘s Nobel Peace Prize that Merkel was a candidate for her stance on accepting refugees. Turkey hosting 2.5 million refugees seems "to interest nobody," he said.During his October 5 visit in Brussels, Erdogan heard over and over that the refugee crisis cannot be resolved without Turkey. His reply: "If it can‘t be done without Turkey, then why don‘t you let Turkey into the EU?"
