Greece claims Turkish coast guard pushes migrants its way

ATHENS – Greece accused Turkey connected Tuesday of acting similar a “pirate” successful waters betwixt the 2 determination rivals, claiming that its seashore defender escorted and tried to propulsion into Greek waters a vessel of migrants who were trying to illegally scope Greece.

The Greek seashore defender posted a video of a ample Turkish patrol vas and what seems to beryllium a smaller 1 beside an inflatable dinghy containing dozens of people.

A seashore defender connection said the Turkish vessels accompanied the migrant vessel disconnected the Greek Aegean Sea land of Lesbos — which is adjacent Turkey's seashore — aboriginal Tuesday. It said Greek seashore defender vessels astatine the country prevented the dinghy’s entry, and the Turkish seashore defender boats yet picked up the migrants aft initially refusing to bash so.

“(The video) shows, beyond immoderate doubt, the wide attempts by Turkish seashore defender craft, utilizing unsafe maneuvers, to nonstop the dinghy that they are escorting towards Greek territorial waters truthful that they could illegally enter,” the connection said.

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Greece's curate for merchant marine, Yiannis Plakiotakis, said Turkey “once again, behaved similar a pirate authorities successful the Aegean.”

“The European Union indispensable exert overmuch greater unit connected Turkey to comply with its planetary obligations,” helium said.

Thousands of radical fleeing struggle oregon poorness successful the Mideast, Africa and Asia effort to participate Greece each twelvemonth from determination rival Turkey. Under a 2016 statement with the European Union, of which Greece is simply a member, Turkey vowed to stem the travel of migrants.

But Greece has repeatedly accused Turkey — which has its ain ample migrant colonisation — of encouraging and facilitating the attempted crossings. Last year, hostility spiked connected their onshore borderline aft Turkey waved thousands of migrants towards Greece and Greece deployed constabulary and subject to thwart what it called a “hybrid attack.”

Turkey, successful turn, accuses Greece — which has stepped up its borderline patrols — of illegally sending backmost migrants who marque it onto its territory.

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis denied that assertion during a property league Tuesday, arguing that his authorities follows a “tough but fair” migration policy.

“We are intercepting boats that travel from Turkey, arsenic we person the close to bash successful accordance with European regulations, and waiting for the Turkish seashore defender to travel and prime them up to instrumentality them to Turkey,” helium said.

Greece and Turkey, some NATO allies, are besides astatine likelihood implicit undersea state and lipid exploration rights.

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