Greece Open To Giving Turkey More Migrant Funding

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that his country was in favor of giving Turkey more financial support if it took back rejected asylum seekers

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2021) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that his country was in favor of giving Turkey more financial support if it took back rejected asylum seekers.

"We recognize Turkey's important role in stopping migrant flows. We do not mind extra financing under two conditions that Turkey must meet: first, it must not use refugees and migrants as a political tool, and, secondly, Turkey must agree to take people back," he told reporters.

Mitsotakis spoke ahead of the EU summit in Brussels, which will discuss a plan to spend some $5.

9 billion on aid to countries hosting Syrian refugees. The Deutsche Welle broadcaster said $4.2 billion would be reserved for Turkey.

Ankara angered Athens last year when it pushed thousands of migrants into the Greek territory. Turkey said it would no longer stick to the 2016 deal with the EU, which requires it to stop irregular migrants from crossing into Europe, after accusing Brussels of failing to honor its financial commitments.