Angered at EU, Turkey threatens to release IS prisoners

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday issued a veiled threat suggesting Turkey could release the Islamic State group prisoners it holds and send them to Europe, angered at a EU decision to impose sanctions on his country over its drilling for gas in Mediterranean waters off Cyprus.

Speaking to reporters before a visit to the United States, Erdogan also said Turkey would continue repatriating foreign Islamic State militants to their home countries, even if those countries decline to take them back.

"You should revise your stance toward Turkey, which at the moment holds so many IS members in prison and at the same time controls those in Syria," Erdogan warned European nations, a day after the EU unveiled a system to sanction Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shows a document with a map of Turkey-Syria border as he speaks to reporters before a visit to the United States, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Erdogan warned European nations Tuesday that his country could release all the Islamic State group prisoners it holds and send them to Europe, in response to EU sanctions over Cyprus.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

He added: "These gates will open and these IS members who have started to be sent to you will continue to be sent. Then you can take care of your own problem."

Erdogan's comments came as Turkey launched a new push to send back captured foreign fighters to their home countries, telling Western nations that Turkey was not a "hotel" for IS fighters and criticizing them for their reluctance to take back citizens who had joined the ranks of the extremist group as it sought to establish a "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria.

Turkey deported citizens of the United States, Denmark and Germany on Monday and announced plans to soon expel seven other German nationals, two Irish nationals and 11 French nationals.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to reporters before a visit to the United States, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Erdogan warned European nations Tuesday that his country could release all the Islamic State group prisoners it holds and send them to Europe, in response to EU sanctions over Cyprus.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

Turkey said last week that about 1,200 IS militants were in Turkish prisons and 287 IS members, including women and children, were captured during Turkey's offensive in Syria, launched last month.

The latest spat with the EU is over exploration for gas around EU member Cyprus. Turkish drillships, escorted by warships, began exploratory drilling this summer in waters where Cyprus says it has exclusive economic rights. Turkey says it is protecting its rights and those of Turkish Cypriots on the divided island.

EU foreign ministers adopted a mechanism making it possible "to sanction individuals or entities responsible for, or involved in, unauthorized drilling activities of hydrocarbons." EU member countries can now come forward with names of those they think should be listed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan wave as they board a plane before a visit to the United States, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Erdogan warned European nations Tuesday that his country could release all the Islamic State group prisoners it holds and send them to Europe, in response to EU sanctions over Cyprus.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

While Turkey has quietly deported IS sympathizers for years, it raised the issue more forcefully after Western nations refused to back its offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Ankara considers to be terrorists linked to Kurdish militants fighting inside Turkey. Many countries have voiced concerns that the Turkish incursion would lead to a resurgence of IS.

Turkish news reports said Monday that a U.S. citizen who had been deported by Turkey was stuck in a heavily militarized no man's land between Greece and Turkey, after Greece refused to take him in.

Asked to comment on the reports, Erdogan said: "Whether they are stuck there at the border it doesn't concern us. We will continue to send them. Whether they take them or not, it is not our concern."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to reporters before a visit to the United States, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Erdogan warned European nations Tuesday that his country could release all the Islamic State group prisoners it holds and send them to Europe, in response to EU sanctions over Cyprus.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shows a document as he speaks to reporters before a visit to the United States, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Erdogan warned European nations Tuesday that his country could release all the Islamic State group prisoners it holds and send them to Europe, in response to EU sanctions over Cyprus.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.

Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.

“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”

“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.

The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.

Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.

Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.

The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.

Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.

In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.

Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.

Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)