Athens will allow NATO vessels participating in patrols to prevent migrant smuggling from Turkey to the Greek islands the opportunity to refuel at any Greek port.
Athens will allow NATO vessels participating in patrols to prevent migrant smuggling from Turkey to the Greek islands the opportunity to refuel at any Greek port.
The relevant defence minister, Panos Kammenos, made the statement on Tuesday.
He also reiterated that patrols will be to the east of the affected Greek islands, a statement to mean between Greek territorial waters and the Turkish coast, as the issue raised criticism this past week by the opposition.
The minister said a German and Canadian vessel have already arrived at the Souda anchorage on Crete, with a Greek vessel and Turkish vessel on standby.
Meanwhile, in a related development, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday spoke by phone with Dutch Premier Mark Rutte and expressed his government’s displeasure with unilateral actions by EU member-states and non-members to close their borders to would-be refugees and irregular migrants that first entered the Union via Greece.
Rutte’s country holds the current EU rotating presidency.