The Greek government has persuaded its Turkish counterpart to accept migrant returns from the mainland in order to reduce critical overcrowding in its refugee camps, a report said Saturday.
According to a Kathimerini news daily report, the agreement came during a strained two-day state visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week, during which he angered his hosts with talk of revising borders and complaints about Greece’s treatment of its Muslim minority.
The deal is in addition to Turkey’s existing agreement to take back migrants from Aegean island camps, under the terms of an EU-Turkey pact.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ office did not comment on the report, but a Greek government source on Friday said Athens and Ankara had agreed “new measures of cooperation towards decongesting the islands, under the terms of the EU-Turkey pact.”
No further details were given. It is unclear how Brussels will react to the move, Kathimerini said.
(Source: AFP)
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