MojNews- Turkey’s foreign minister said Thursday that the European Union has not even paid half of the 6 billion euros (US$6.65 billion) it had promised Ankara to tackle the issue of refugees following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was speaking to the German daily Bild, commenting on Turkey’s relations with the EU and its moves in Syria and Libya.

Cavusoglu said the EU did not completely fulfill its promises as part of a 2015 agreement where both sides reached a deal on the refugee crisis and said the union has not even paid the initial 3 billion euros, which should have been delivered by the end of 2016.

Turkey's top diplomat said German Chancellor Angela merkel played a significant role in the signing of the refugee deal and this triggered jealousy among some EU member countries.