Turkey intends to stop migration flow at sea, meeting hears

Turkey’s interior minister has reportedly told three Greek government ministers that it is Turkey’s intention to stop the flow of migrants at sea in the same way as it stemmed the migration flow on land.

Ali Yerlikaya’s meeting with Minister of Migration and Asylum Dimitris Kairidis, Minister of Citizen Protection Ioannis Oikonomou and Minister of Shipping Christos Stylianides as part of the 5th Greece-Turkey High Level Cooperation Council is said to have taken place in an extremely positive atmosphere.

Both sides reached a verbal agreement to conduct regular visits between the shipping and interior ministers of each country, starting on visit by Stylianides to Ankara in early 2024.

These meetings will take stock and review events in the Aegean Sea in relation to the management of irregular migration.

The chiefs of the Greek and Turkish coast guards were also present at the meeting. They agreed to establish a 24-hour hotline to facilitate direct communication between them.