Athens Refutes Turkey's Accusations Of Greeks Drowning Boats With Migrants - Ministry

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2019) The Greek Foreign Ministry has flatly denied the statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, accusing the Greeks of drowning boats with migrants, and called them offensive.

According to the Greek media reports, Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Ankara that Greece shot and drowned boats with migrants in the Aegean Sea and forced many of them to return to Turkey injured.

"We categorically reject statements by the Turkish Foreign Minister. Such unsubstantiated accusations of alleged refugee practices expose those who promote them, while insulting both the officials of the Greek government involved and the Greek citizens who make daily titanic efforts to save lives. Greece is a democratic state that effectively controls its borders with full respect for international law and a high sense of humanity," the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In recent months, the flow of migrants from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea has significantly increased. Hundreds of illegal migrants sail daily on boats; the coast guard constantly reports on the rescue of migrants. Meanwhile, on the night of October 23, the patrol boat rammed into a vessel with migrants in complete darkness as there were no navigation lights. Two people have died, including a three-year-old child from Syria, 32 people were rescued.

Greece demands that Turkey complies with the EU agreement and patrols its borders. According to the deal, Ankara promised to prevent migrants from reaching Europe through its territory in return for considerable financial assistance. The Greek government has been consistently outraged by what it perceives to be the lack of effort from Turkey to keep its side of the bargain.