Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With respect, I think that is a misreading of the situation. The refugee agreement between the EU and Turkey is something that of course is part of the relationship between them but Turkey's involvement in Libya, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean, tensions with Greece and Cyprus and the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are issues that go well beyond the refugee issue. Standing up and taking on Turkey, as the Deputy describes it, is not necessarily the way to do this. These issues need to be de-escalated through political dialogue, and if that does not work of course the EU has tools available to it to increase pressure. First and foremost, we want to try to de-escalate the relationship that is there at present and achieve things through political dialogue.

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