Greek PM criticizes Turkey for its threat to reopen its borders to refugees
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has sent a strong warning to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, telling him not to threaten Greece and Europe in order to secure more money from the European Union.
Mitsotakis’ comments came after Erdogan last Thursday said Ankara would open the borders for refugees if Turkey did not receive more international aid to manage the migrant situation.
Speaking in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Sunday, Mitsotakis said Erdogan was welcome to discuss any renegotiation of the agreement with the EU, but “not with threats.”
Mitsotakis also called out other EU countries for not doing enough to address the current increase in refugees.
“It can’t be possible for a country to refuse to take in 50 or 100 children,” he said. “Some states want all the benefits of freedom of movement afforded by the Schengen agreement, but refuse to share burdens.”
More than 330 people arrived on the shores of several Greek islands from Turkey over the weekend. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, 8,103 people arrived on Greece’s Aegean islands in August, up from 3,200 in the same month last year.
Registration camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos are once again overfilled, with many fearing a return to the 2015 refugee crisis.
Via DW/ Ekathimerini
