Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that his country cannot handle a "new refugee wave" from Syria.
Tens of thousands of people have fled towards the Turkish border amid increased bombardment of the rebel-held Idlib province in north-west Syria. Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees
Mr Erdogan said more than 80,000 people from Idlib had fled to areas near the Turkish border amid heightened bombardments from Syrian and Russian forces. "If the violence towards the people of Idlib does not stop, this number will increase even more. In that case, Turkey will not carry such a migrant burden on its own," he said.
The Turkish president warned of a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis -
when more than a million people fled to Europe - if the violence did not end. He said a Turkish delegation was set to go to Moscow on Monday to discuss the situation. A ceasefire negotiated by Russia and Turkey halted a Syrian government assault on Idlib in August. But skirmishes and bombardments are still an almost daily occurrence.
Turkey wants Syrian refugees to return to a "safe zone" in the north-east of Syria that was seized from Kurdish-led forces in October.
Mr Erdogan has called for support for the plan, saying
he would otherwise be forced to "open the gates" for Syrians to enter Europe.
Turkey's offensive in northern Syria drew widespread international condemnation, and its safe zone plan has had little backing from allies.
"We call on European countries to use their energy to stop the massacre in Idlib, rather than trying to corner Turkey for the legitimate steps it took in Syria," Mr Erdogan said on Sunday.
Erdogan says Turkey can't handle more refugees