Greek Shipping & Island Policy Minister met with Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya in Ankara on Thursday to discuss the migration issue.
Stylianides met privately with Yerlikaya before the two delegations met, with the participation of the Port Authority chief and officers on the Greek side, while participating on the Turkish side were the chiefs of police and of the gendarmes.
Both sides agreed that the migration issue was a common problem between Greece and Turkiye, and both countries could work together, instead of in parallel, to manage it. “Today is a new start in jointly dealing with migration flows at sea,” Stylianides said.
According to information, both sides agreed to keep a direct line of communication between the chiefs of the Greek Port Authority and the Turkish Coast Guard, while an officer will be appointed as a contact person to facilitate communication. In addition, port officials and regional authorities along marine borders on each side will set regular meetings, as the migration issue is often local in nature. According to information, the Turkish gendarmerie will take preventative action to prevent migration flows on land “before the boats start off,” while both sides will exhange information on managing illegal migration rings.
Athens visit
Yerlikaya is scheduled to visit Athens in February, and meet with the three ministers related to the migration issue (migration, citizen protection, and shipping).
In statements before departing Ankara, Stylianides said that his meeting with the Turkish interior minister and officials “was very good and in a very constructive climate”. The focus of the meeting, he added, was “how to make an informal collaboration up to now more systematic, and to turn it into a joint management of the problem at the sea borders of both countries.”
He said the coast guard officials of both sides met on technical issues, to work on practicalities related to collaborating on the field.
On its side, the Turkish Interior Ministry said that they exchanged views and “discussed opportunities of collaboration between the two countries to fight illegal migration and the illegal transport of migrants. Also discussed were issues of supporting collaboration and communication between the administrations of the Port Authority in both countries.”
