Greece: Turkey should stop using migrants to pressure EU, Athens

Greece called on Turkey to fully implement the EU-Turkey statement on curbing migration and stop using refugees and migrants to pressure the European Union and Greece for more concessions, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“As a democratic country based on the rule of law, Greece does not accept lessons from anyone,” ministry spokesman Alexandros Gennimatas said in a regular press briefing.

Gennimatas was responding to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry which criticized Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for claiming that the conditions in Greek migrant camps was “unmanageable,” saying these claims are “baseless and unfortunate.”

“Compared to the migratory crisis of 2015 when 850 thousand irregular migrants reached Europe, the current level of crossings have reduced by 94 percent, thanks to measures taken by Turkey,” said ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy.