Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said today at a meeting with the country's President Konstantinos Thassoulas that he had asked Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias to ensure the dispatch of Greek Navy ships near the territorial waters of Libya due to the increased migrant pressure on Greece, the online edition of the newspaper reported. “Kathimerini“, BTA reported.
“Smugglers will not determine who enters Greece“, said Mitsotakis, emphasizing that he will raise the issue at the upcoming EU summit, which will be held at the end of the month.
At the end of last week, in less than 24 hours, 731 migrants, including many families and children, arrived on the islands of Crete and Gavdos, “Kathimerini“ recalled, noting that most of the migrants are from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Pakistan, but left from Tobruk in Libya.
Diplomatic tensions with Libya are complicating cooperation on migration issues, the newspaper also notes.