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331. EU interior ministers to pledge ‘all necessary measures’ to stop illegal crossings

EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday will pledge “all necessary measures” to prevent illegal crossings into the bloc’s external borders, according to a draft of their conclusions seen by Kathimerini, which also calls upon Turkey to abide by the terms of a 2016 deal to stem flows in the Aegean....

332. Greek army, police dig in along Turkey border after migrant clashes

Greek troops and riot police remained on high alert on Tuesday along the land border between Greece and Turkey, the main flashpoint in an escalating row between the EU and Ankara over how to deal with a new wave of migrants and refugees....

333. Guards use tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants at Greek-Turkish border

Guards on Greece’s northeastern land border with Turkey made “deterrent use” of tear gas to disperse some 500 refugees and migrants trying to enter the country and the European Union after Ankara loosened controls on migrant flows....

334. Greek border crackdown amid concerns over Turkey

Greek government sources on Friday stressed that authorities are boosting security at the country’s border following reports that Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from traveling to Europe....

335. Greek islanders strike over new migrant camps, government says no alternative

Greek island residents went on strike for a second day on Thursday, stepping up protests against government plans for new migrant camps on five islands after violent clashes with police....

336. Protesting islanders barge into Chios hotel, eight officers injured

Local residents in Chios, angered by the Greek Government's determination to go ahead with the creation of closed migrant centers on the islands, on Wednesday barged into a hotel near the construction site and attacked eight police officers who are staying there....

337. Greek Government to proceed with new island camps, despite reactions

The Greek government is determined to move ahead with its plan to build new holding facilities for migrants and refugees as part of a plan to accelerate asylum procedures and deportations on the five islands hosting camps, its spokesman said on Tuesday, amid reactions to the scheme from island residents....

338. France stands by Greece and Cyprus, says French Defense Minister

France will stand by Greece and Cyprus, supporting both in their disputes with Turkey over maritime zones in the Mediterranean, French Defence Minister Florence Parly was quoted saying in a Greek newspaper on Sunday....

339. Pressed in Syria, Turkey ups the ante in the East Med

340. Cavusoglu: Greece must be prepared to share in the East Med

Turkey is willing to reach a compromise with Greece as long as the latter is prepared to share in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday....

341. Port authority crews reportedly harassed by Turkish coast guard off Kastelorizo

The Turkish coast guard reportedly harassed vessels of the Greek port Authority and military as they prepared on Tuesday to collect migrants and refugees on board a dinghy near the islet of Strongyli off the coast of the southeastern Aegean island of Kastelorizo....

342. Athens drafts package to ease tension with Anakara

Athens plans to present a package of proposals to ease Aegean tensions in talks with Ankara on confidence building measures on February 17-21....

343. Greece to speed up creation of migrant holding centers to ease tension

Greece plans to accelerate the creation of detention centers on its outlying islands in the Aegean Sea after a backlash against overcrowded camps by some migrants and nearby residents....

344. Greek Defence minister denies Erdogan's phone talk claims on Imia

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos rejected on Thursday claims by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he sent a message to Greece through Defence Minister Hulusi Akar not to make any “move” over the eastern Aegean islets of Imia, for which the two countries were brought to the brink of war twenty-four years ago....

345. Greece seeking EU alliances to boost migrant returns

As tensions at migrant camps on the Aegean islands simmer amid continuing arrivals, the Greek government is looking at ways of accelerating the return of those whose asylum applications are rejected....

346. Greek, Turkish defense ministers hold telephone conversation ahead of NATO meeting

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar held a telephone conversation Wednesday ahead of the meeting of NATO ministers of defense in Brussels February 12-13, Kathimerini reports....

347. Sunshine bows out by midweek

A weak high-pressure system is affecting the area over Cyprus but sudden deteriorating conditions in Greece are also expected to affect the island this week...

348. Greece not trying to create ‘anti-Turkish front,’ Greek FM says

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias says Greece is not trying to drum up opposition against Turkey but rather support for what is reasonable and would enable more cooperation in the Mediterranean....

349. Greece wants floating fence to keep migrants out

Greece wants to install a floating barrier in the Aegean Sea to deter migrants arriving at its islands’ shores through Turkey, government officials said on Thursday....

350. Mitsotakis calls for greater European solidarity on Turkey, migration

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for greater European solidarity in dealing with Turkish provocations against Greek sovereignty and the immigration crisis....

351. Libya’s Haftar in Athens for talks

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis vowed on Thursday to veto any solution on the North African country if the maritime border deal between the Tripoli-based government with Turkey is not scrapped...

352. Tough dilemmas in Greek-Turkish affairs

Turkey’s claims in the Aegean were first brought to the table in 1973 and have escalated ever since, reaching successive peaks over 10 to 15 years and multiplying...

353. Athens denounces sea border deal to UN

Greece’s objections to the “legally invalid” maritime boundary deal between Turkey and Libya are meticulously outlined in two letters it has sent to the United Nations, which also call on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to bring the matter before the Security Council...

354. Turkey says Greek Cypriots 'spoiled' in the EU

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says his country’s continental shelf is not up for discussion, accusing Greeks and Greek Cypriots of holding maximalist and uncompromising positions....

355. Turkey reacts to EU sanctions over Cyprus

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the European Union’s decision to sanction Turkey over drilling off the coast of Cyprus could disrupt talks with the bloc, and he warned that Turkey could send captured Islamic State fighters to Europe...

356. Turkey expresses displeasure at military exercise with barrage of violations

Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday conducted a total of 70 airspace violations, which led to six overflights and five mock dogfights with Greek fighter jets....

357. Pompeo opts for diplomacy over Cyprus EEZ

The new defense deal signed between Athens and Washington will contribute to Greece’s security, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Kathimerini in a recent interview, while staying firm on diplomatic efforts regarding Cyprus' EEZ...

358. Turkish jets fly over Greek islets

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets flew over the Anthropofagi and Makronisi chain of islets in the eastern Aegean the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) said Monday....

359. Attracting investments, relations with Turkey: A new chapter?

On a diplomatic level, the main event was Mitsotakis’ meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders discussed all the major issues. Aside from the chronic Cyprus dispute, where the situation has become even more complicated following the discovery of gas deposits, one of the most pressing issues at the moment is migration. ...

360. Greece sends Frontex new request for assistance with inflow surge

Amid the recent surge in migrant flows to the islands of the eastern Aegean, the Greek coast guard has sent a new request – the second within three weeks – for additional assistance from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, according to sources. ...