Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos put the number of refugees currently in Greece at 24,000.
The minister, who leads the rightist-populist Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party and is a coalition partner of the current government, spoke from the northern Aegean island of Thasos on Wednesday.
Kammenos did not clarify if the figure he cited includes only Mideast refugees fleeing war zones in Syria and Iraq, or if it also includes irregular migrants from various Third World countries.
The often outspoken Greek politician praised the role of the Greek armed forces, which he said stepped up to assume the construction of five “hotspots” to ID refugees, as well as relocation centers and temporary shelters.
He also lauded the recent agreement to allow NATO patrols in the eastern Aegean in a bid to curb the activity of migrant smugglers operating from NATO member Turkey.
