Turkey's president Tayyip Erdogan threatens to flood Europe with migrants

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday warned the European Union (EU) that if the body continues to threaten his country, he will open the border gates and allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter into EU countries.

Erdogan reacted angrily to a non-binding resolution approved by the European Parliament, on Thursday demanding that the bloc freeze membership negotiations with Turkey over the government's heavy-handed crackdown on its citizens following a failed military coup in July.

"We are the ones who feed 3-3.5 million refugees in this country. You have betrayed your promises," Erdogan told the EU.

"If you go any further, these border gates will be opened. Neither me nor my people will be affected by these dry threats. It wouldn't matter if all of you approved the vote."

The EU agreed a deal with Turkey earlier this year to return migrants to Turkey in return for a package including aid for the refugees and accelerated membership talks.