Ankara agrees to accept migrant returns from Greece

Agreement came during strained two-day state visit by Turkish President Erdoğan earlier this week
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan receives gift from child during a visit to Komotini, northeast Greece, on Friday (AFP)
AFP
Sunday, 10 December 2017 16:41

Greece has persuaded Turkey to accept migrant returns from the mainland in order to reduce critical overcrowding in its refugee camps, a report said Saturday.

The Kathimerini daily said the agreement came during a strained two-day state visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week, during which he angered his hosts with talk of revising borders and complaints about Greece's treatment of its Muslim minority.

The deal is in addition to Turkey's existing agreement to take back migrants from Aegean island camps, under the terms of an EU-Turkey pact.

It is unclear how Brussels will react to the move, Kathimerini said.