Merkel Woos Erdogan on Refugees After Turkish Leader's Taunts
- German leader to visit Istanbul in heat of election campaign
- Turkey seeking aid for refugee camps, EU concessions
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The influx of refugees into Germany is making Chancellor Angela Merkel throw caution to the wind as she heads to Turkey, two weeks before a national election.
Courting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he seeks to shore up control in the Nov. 1 ballot is bound to run the risk of bucking neutrality. By traveling to Istanbul on Sunday to win his support in stemming the stream of migrants and refugees to Europe, Merkel is reluctantly acknowledging that these are exceptional times, according to a person familiar with her thinking.