EC president calls on Turkey to stop military operation in Syria

European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday called on Turkey to stop its military operation in northern Syria, saying that the European Union (EU) will never accept refugees to be "weaponized" by Turkey.

Tusk was speaking after talks in Nicosia with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and was referring to Turkey's announced plans to transfer millions of refugees to a zone to be created in northeastern Syria.

"We will never accept that refugees are weaponized and used to blackmail us," Tusk said.

Tusk will preside over an EU summit on Oct. 17 to consider, among other issues, Turkey's new military operation aimed at creating what it calls a safe zone stretching 120 km with a depth of 30 km.

Tusk also denounced a warning by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that if the EU uses the term "invasion" to refer to Turkey's military action in northern Syria, he will flood European countries with millions of refugees.

"President Erdogan's threats ... are totally out of place," Tusk said.

He said Turkey's security concerns should be addressed through political and diplomatic channels, stressing that a military intervention will only make matters worse.

"Instead of creating stability, it will create even more instability in the whole region, exacerbate civilian suffering, cause further displacement," Tusk said.

Anastasiades said that the Turkish military operation in Syria was of grave concern.

He expressed concern about the possibility of another influx of refugees from Syria, saying that for three years in a row Cyprus has accepted the EU's highest number of refugees per capita.

He also voiced the hope that the refugee problem can "be tackled at its roots."