European Union leaders said Tuesday they have reached a possible deal with Ankara to return thousands of migrants to Turkey, and that they are confident a full agreement can be reached at a summit next week.
After months of disagreements and increasing bickering among the 28 EU nations, the leaders said they agreed to give Turkey more money to help refugees, swiftly ease visa requirements for Turks and speed up Ankara's accession talks in exchange for its help in stemming migration flows to Europe.
All eyes now are on March 17 and the start of a two-day summit to finalize the commitment and agree on a deal that the leaders hope will allow for a return to normalcy at their borders by the end of the year.
Turkey, which is sheltering an estimated 2.7 million Syrians, was reported to be asking for an extra $3.3 billion from the EU, roughly twice the amount already pledged by the 28-member bloc.