Turkey PM Davutoglu: We can't stop foreign jihadists entering Syria through border

Preventing foreign jihadists crossing Turkey's border and into Syria to join jihadist groups such as the Islamic State [IS] is near-impossible, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said.

In an interview with The Times, Davutoglu said that sealing off the 937km border was not only unworkable but would only lead to further criticism as refugees would not be able to flee violence.

"We can close the border, but who will save the refugees, who will give them a safe haven?" he said.

"All those people who are escaping by walking, should we close the border to them? Is that ethically acceptable?

"It's a 937-kilometre border, it's impossible to do. We can't put a soldier on every inch."

The border is where numerous foreign fighters have flocked to join jihadist groups such as Nusra Front and IS.

Coalition members, who are meeting today in London, have been attempting to coerce Turkey into strengthening its border.

However, Turkey is demanding a concerted international effort to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power and has refused to take military action until this happens.

"We can, of course, declare the border a military zone and say that nobody will enter, but then the same people who are criticising us now will say that barbaric Turkey closed the border and people are being killed as a result," Davutoglu said. "We will never do it."