Pope Francis says Tsipras deserves Nobel Prize over migration
Pope Francis praised Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday over his stance towards refugees and suggested he deserved to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Asked about the two barriers Spain has built in Morocco to stop people from fleeing to Europe and US President Donald Trump's remarks about closing the borders, the Pope said walls are not the way to resolve the problem of migration, adding that they cause suffering.
“I once spoke to a politician, a man that I respect and I will say the name: Alexis Tsipras. And speaking of this and the accords not to let [migrants] in, he explained the difficulties to me, but in the end, he spoke to me from the heart and said this phrase: 'human rights are before accords.' This sentence deserves the Nobel Prize,” he was quoted as saying in a transcript of the Catholic News Agency during a press conference aboard the papal plane, as he travelled from Rabat to Rome.
“Europe was made by migration and this is its riches,” he added.
