Using migrants and refugees as geopolitical ‘pawns’ to put pressure on the European Union was “inconceivable”, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday at a meeting with FRONTEX Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri, at the Maximos Mansion.
The meeting was attended by Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi, the chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Konstantinos Floros, the chief of the Hellenic Police, Lieutenant General Michael Karamalakis and other officials
“It is an opportunity to thank you personally for the excellent cooperation we have had all these years in terms of protecting our borders, which is the right of our country and an obligation fully compatible with international law. We know that we are a continent that provides international protection where necessary and we want to offer legal routes for migration but, at the same time, we must protect our borders against traffickers,” Mitsotakis said.
“In the last two years, with the active support of Frontex, we have managed to reduce flows by almost 80 pct in 2020 and by an additional 72 pct from the beginning of the year until today. I would like to warmly congratulate the Greek Armed Forces, the Hellenic Police, and especially the Greek Coast Guard and my colleagues in the government for the results they have achieved. I would also like to congratulate the Coast Guard and FRONTEX for the protection they provide against the risk of losing human lives at sea. The protection of our borders not only prevents undocumented arrivals, but also protects human lives,” he underlined.
“On this occasion, I would like to once again address our neighbour, Turkey, and encourage it to remain committed to what the provisions of the EU-Turkey Statement and to work more actively to prevent undocumented arrivals and further reduce migration flows in the Aegean,” the prime minister added.
