Portugal Reaches Deal With Spain, France On Taking In Aquarius Migrants -Interior Ministry

Fakhir Rizvi Published September 25, 2018 | 10:05 PM

Portugal, Spain and France reached a deal on Tuesday to take in migrants from the Aquarius rescue ship, the Portuguese Interior Ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2018) Portugal, Spain and France reached a deal on Tuesday to take in migrants from the Aquarius rescue ship, the Portuguese Interior Ministry said in a statement.

"Portugal has reached an agreement with Spain and France as a solidary response to the flow of migrants, trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, [and agreed] to take in 10 out of 58 migrants on board of Aquarius boat," the statement read.

The ministry stressed that Portugal "continues to stand by an integrated, stable and permanent European solution" to respond to the migration crisis.

On Monday, the SOS Mediterranee charity asked the French authorities to allow the Aquarius to dock in Marseille "on exceptional grounds.

" France reacted by calling for a "European solution" and suggesting the ship docks in Malta instead.

Over the past several months, the European Union has been in discord amid attempts of several migrant rescue ships to enter its ports. In June, Italy and Malta, for instance, denied entry to the Aquarius ship that was then carrying over 600 rescued migrants, while Spain eventually allowed the vessel to dock in Valencia.

Aquarius 2 is the last migrant rescue vessel operating in the central Mediterranean.