Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday criticized Greece’s stance on migrants, after 19 people froze to death this week on the Turkish side of their shared border.
Turkey on Wednesday accused Greece of sending migrants back across the border without shoes or clothes, a charge Athens dismissed as “false propaganda.” On Thursday, the death toll from the incident rose to 19.
Turkey has long accused NATO member Greece of forcing migrants back and sinking their boats, and says it has evidence of these incidents.
“Standing and watching…how people freeze to death is not something that can be accepted or endured,” Erdogan told a group of journalists gathered in Ankara.
“No matter which national leader we meet with, we will show them all the images that we have recorded,” he added.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ) has said it has received a growing number of reports in recent months suggesting that asylum-seekers may be being returned to Turkey after being intercepted at sea or immediately upon arrival. on Greek soil, and that even the European country would be abandoning them adrift at sea.
Greece says Turkey must do more to prevent migrants from crossing its territory into Europe, under the terms of a 2016 agreement with the European Union. Under that deal, Ankara agreed to stem the flow of refugees into the EU and take in Syrians fleeing the war in their country in exchange for billions of euros.
CRITICISM OF THE EU
Erdogan also lashed out at the EU border agency, Frontex, accusing it of inaction.
“It is useless. Other than backing Greece, they have no role,” she said.
Ankara has repeatedly accused Frontex of being involved in the expulsion of migrants. The agency has come under scrutiny for its practices and for failing to meet transparency requirements.
The flow of migrants and refugees into the EU through Greece from Africa, the Middle East and other regions has decreased since 2015-2016, when more than a million people took this route in search of a better life in Europe.
Turkey hosts some 4 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the world, in addition to some 300,000 Afghans. The country has said it cannot take in any more migrants.
Although Greece and Turkey agreed last year to resume their two-way talks over a series of disagreements, they have continued to trade accusations over migration and maritime jurisdiction.