Greece Urges Turkey To Stop Sea Provocations Involving Migrants - Asylum Minister

Athens demands that Ankara stop provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi said on Friday in the wake of controversy around Turkish navy chaperoning migrant boats toward the European territorial waters

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2021) Athens demands that Ankara stop provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi said on Friday in the wake of controversy around Turkish navy chaperoning migrant boats toward the European territorial waters.

The Greek coast guard reported earlier in the day that Turkish navy ships accompanied Greece-bound boats carrying irregular migrants. According to Mitarachi, the goal of this was to "provoke an escalation with Greece." The coast guard also said that a Turkish vessel had conducted dangerous maneuvers near a Greek patrol ship off the Lesbos island.

"We call on Turkey to stand down and stop this unwarranted provocation; return these migrants safely to Turkey; and live up to the 2016 EU-Turkey Joint Statement on migration," Mitarachi said.

Under the 2016 deal, the European Union paid Turkey over $6 billion for it to prevent illegal migrants from crossing the European border. Since then, the Turkish government repeatedly threatened to "open the gates" to Europe for migrants, which many in Brussels have slammed as political blackmail.

Last year, Turkey introduced a ban on the return of migrants whose asylum applications were rejected in Greece, citing illegal immigration concerns. The move came in response to what Ankara said was the EU's failure to fulfill its part of the agreement.

Greece and Turkey have repeatedly locked horns over the Mediterranean in recent years, chiefly due to Turkish drilling for gas in Greek-claimed waters. On April 14, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to meet for talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara.