Turkey accuses Greece of lying about migrant pushbacks

·

Turkey has accused Greece of lying about migrant pushbacks.  

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the accusations on  Thursday during a visit from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.  

“It is Greece condemning refugees to their deaths in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas,” Erdogan said during a televised news conference, adding he had proof. 

“It is ungrateful for [Greece] to say that Turkey is the source of the problem while our country is hosting 5 million refugees.”

“If we open our borders, I do not know what Greece will suffer, what Greece will do.”

He slammed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for “lying” and “not behaving honestly”. 

Mitsotakis claimed on Tuesday that Turkey is “instrumentalising migration”.

“Rather than putting the blame on Greece you should put the blame on those … pushing people in a desperate situation from a safe country, because I need to remind you that people who are in Turkey are not in danger,” Mitsotakis said.

“We have a tough but fair policy in migration.”

Mitsotakis has been under fire recently over the alleged pushbacks. 

The Prime Minister got into a heated exchange with Dutch journalist Ingeborg Beugel after she accused him of lying about the pushbacks.

The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Dunja Mijatović, called for the Hellenic Coastal Guard to end pushbacks in May. 

European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson called reports by German media into pushbacks in the Aegean Sea “shocking” last month. 

“These reports need to be investigated,” she said. 

Athens denies claims of migrant pushbacks. 

Source: Ekathimerini

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Comic author Peter Barber and his Greek Orthodox Easter ‘adventures’

Award-winning British author Peter Barber writes books about… Greece. So far, he has published five books about his second, or first, home!

Peter Dutton MP’s Easter message: Honouring faith and the Greek Australian legacy

Australia’s Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton MP, has issued a message to Greek communities to mark Orthodox Easter today.

Anthony Albanese MP praises Greek community in heartfelt Easter message

Federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has sent a message to mark Orthodox Easter this year. Read the full message here.

High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia sends heartfelt Easter wishes

High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Australia, Antonis Sammoutis, sends a message for Orthodox Easter.

Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Greeks Abroad sends message for Orthodox Easter

Greece’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister for Greeks Abroad, Ioannis Michail Loverdos, has issued a message for Orthodox Easter.

You May Also Like

Four ways to ‘Greek-ify’ your Christmas

What are the essential Greek traditions to follow at Christmas time? No Greek Christmas is complete without these four essential steps.

City Gym owner Billy Kokkinis in ‘complete shock’ at COVID-19 outbreak

NSW Health confirmed Wednesday that 15 people who had been at City Gym in Darlinghurst tested positive for COVID-19.

Greek PM agrees to hold talks with Libya over maritime border demarcation

Greece and Libya are to discuss delineating maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean, the Greek Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday.