(AFP) Greece blocked hundreds of migrants trying to enter the country on Friday after Turkey said it would open the gates for refugees from Syria to enter the European Union.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that “illegal” entries would not be tolerated while the EU said it had received “reassurances” from Ankara.
Turkey’s threat came hours after a Syrian strike on Thursday killed 33 of its soldiers in Idlib and was aimed at forcing European governments to do more to support it in its fight against the regime.
Around 3.6 million Syrian refugees are currently being held in Turkey under a 2016 deal Ankara struck with the European Union which dramatically cut the flow of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece.