44 drown in boat sinking as Angela Merkel seeks Turkey aid

Forty-four people drowned after three refugee boats sank Friday off Greece, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to press Turkey to play a bigger part in resolving Europe’s escalating migrant crisis.

Germany and Turkey have emerged as crucial players in the biggest migration crisis to rock Europe since World War II, and both Ms Merkel and visiting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will seek to drive a hard bargain in Berlin where the two countries’ cabinets are meeting.

The outcome of Friday’s talks is not only important for Ms Merkel, who faces intense pressure at home to impose a cap on Germany’s refugee intake, but it will also have resonance across Europe where public opinion is hardening against a record asylum seeker influx. Despite wintry conditions, thousands of people fleeing war and misery are still embarking on the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to seek a better life in Europe.

In a stark illustration of the high cost of the voyage, Greek and Turkish Coast Guards recovered the bodies of 44 migrants — including 20 children — whose boats capsized on their way to Greece, officials said Friday.

EU member states have been split about how to end the crisis, with Austria the latest to draw fire when it decided to impose a limit on its asylum seeker intake.

Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz said the measure serves as a “wake-up call” to push Europe to find a joint solution.

Ms Merkel has so far resisted demands for a quota, after nearly 1.1 million asylum seekers arrived in Germany in 2015.

She has instead promised a “tangible reduction” in new arrivals, and is counting on international efforts to deliver. Ms Merkel won some backing from US President Barack Obama, who in a phone call late Thursday pledged to contribute “substantially” at a Syria donors’ conference in February.