Greece and Turkey reaffirm deal on migrants

Turkey has reaffirmed an agreement with Greece to take back migrants attempting to reach the European Union – a key condition set by EU leaders for a landmark deal with Turkey to tackle the migrant crisis.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmed Davutoglu, in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir on Tuesday, a day after the EU-Turkey summit in Brussels.

“We have decided to intensify our cooperation and to re-affirm the bilateral agreement. That is very important,” Tsipras said.

Davutoglu said the improved cooperation could “reduce the dramatic scenes seen in the Aegean Sea to a minimum.”

More than 130,000 migrants and refugees have traveled to the Greek islands from the Turkish coast so far this year.

The two countries also signed a series of cooperation agreements to further integrate highway, rail and maritime transport networks.

[AP]