BRUSSELS, Jumada I 28, 1437, March 08, 2016, SPA -- European Union leaders tussled with Turkey over how to control the flow of asylum-seekers from the Middle East in a diplomatic tug-of-war Monday that left the fate of thousands of refugees seeking a way to safety people fleeing war hanging in the balance, according to AP. Daylong negotiations between the 28-nation bloc and Turkey edged toward midnight with both sides seeking more as part of any new agreement. Turkey, home to 2.75 million refugees chiefly from neighboring Syria, surprised EU counterparts by demanding a doubling of funding beyond the 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) already pledged. Turkey insisted that any agreement would require Europe to advance Turkey's long-delayed hope of joining the bloc. As an additional step, Turkey said it expects EU nations to ease its visa restrictions on Turkish citizens within months. For its part, the EU sought to gain stronger commitments from Turkey to take back refugees who have reached European shores and ease a crisis that has left an estimated 13,000 to 14,000 souls encamped in the wintry cold on the Greece-Macedonia border. --SPA 01:49 LOCAL TIME 22:49 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w