Positive signals put out by Ankara

In encouraging signs over the last two days, Greece and Turkey have sought to deliver a message of understanding on the subject of migratory flows on the Evros border between the two countries.

Indicatively, on Wednesday morning, on the initiative of Turkish authorities, most of the 300 or so refugees/migrants who had been trapped for several days on an island in the Evros River near Nea Vyssa were removed.

Police sources said Turkish civil protection troops evacuated the majority of the refugees/migrants from the islet and transported them into Turkey.

Previously, Turkish authorities had used loudspeakers and cellphones to urge refugees/migrants to leave the area. The Greek authorities utilized sound signals in a similar manner. The operation to remove the migrants lasted till Wednesday evening.

The presence of foreign nationals on the island in question had been made public by the NGO Alarm Phone as early as June 3, with the organization referring to three different groups on the island totaling 330 people Tuesday night in a Twitter post. “Many among them have been trapped on the islet for several days,” the tweet said.

The presence of migrants on the islet, as well as another in the Marasia area (removed by Greek police), heightened Greek authorities’ concerns, prompting acting foreign minister Vassilis Kaskarelis and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to speak on the phone on Tuesday night. Kaskarelis congratulated his Turkish colleague on his new position, according to the Foreign Ministry’s official Twitter account, adding that the topic of illegal migration was highlighted during the discussion.

The initial communications were held at the level of the Citizens’ Protection Ministry on the part of Greece and the Interior Ministry of Turkey, through a written request at a low level (operational) from Athens to Ankara.

According to reliable sources, it was the communication between the two ministers that hastened the developments, with the Turkish authorities proceeding just a few hours later to remove the refugees from the islet. The acting citizens’ protection minister, Charalambos Lalousis, said the situation at the borders in no way resembles the spring of 2020. “Turkey is not weaponizing the migration issue,” he told reporters. “It is a period when the level of the Evros River is low and the natural vegetation favors phenomena of attempts to enter Greek territory,” he pointed out.