(AFP) The European Union said on Monday that Turkey must “urgently” resume accepting migrants from Greece, where thousands are being held in camps, days before EU chiefs are to visit Ankara.
Greece, which has also been seeking support from EU allies in a decades-old maritime dispute with Turkey, wants Ankara to better police migration routes and take back hundreds of asylum seekers found ineligible for refugee protection.
“I call on Turkey to urgently resume the return of migrants from Greece,” said EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson during a visit to the island of Lesbos, which hosts more than 8,000 asylum seekers.
EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel are set to visit Turkey next week to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over migration and other regional issues.
