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31. Athens and Istanbul can do their part

During one of the deepest troughs in bilateral relations in the fall of 1999 following the arrest of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, Greece and Turkey went from being on the brink of war to a rapprochement, spearheaded by their foreign ministers, George Papandreou and the late Ismail Cem....

32. EU Cannot be blackmailed

Europe cannot be blackmailed by any of its neighboring countries on migration,...

33. Mitsotakis and Erdogan agree to calm summer

In a 50-minute meeting described by Greek sources as an 'ice breaker,' Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to a joint understanding on Monday that 2020 tensions should not be repeated in 2021, while noting at the same time that the big differences between the two NATO members remain...

34. Cyprus rejects EU draft on Turkey which seeks to deepen trade ties

Cyprus has rejected a draft prepared for a summit of EU leaders this week which seeks to deepen trade ties with Turkey, describing it as “totally unacceptable.” ...

35. From Bismarck to Merkel

'Turks and Germans loved each other for a long time,' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Berlin in 2018. He was citing the historic words of Germany’s first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, which still seem to determine Berlin’s policy on Ankara. We should recognize this reality as we enter a new geopolitical era, without succumbing to sentimentalism and spasmodic reactions....

36. Council of Europe report critical of Greece's migrant pushbacks, detention conditions

A Council of Europe report, released Thursday, calls on Greece to stop pushbacks of migrants and calls out the country on the conditions in several migrant detention centers....

37. Greece finalizes plan to build wall on border with Turkey

Greece's government says it has finalized plans to extend a wall along its northeast border with Turkey, over concerns that migrants may try to stage mass crossings into the European Union country....

38. Greek PM proposes fresh talks with Turkey on maritime zones, or World Court

Greece’s Prime Minister reiterated a call for bilateral talks with Turkey on the delimitation of maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, adding that if these don’t work, they should refer the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague....

39. EU foreign policy chief to hold string of meetings in Cyprus this week

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to hold a meetings with top Cyprus government officials including president Nicos Anastasiades on June 25 and 26, the Cyprus News Agency reported Tuesday....

40. Greek PM says Greece ready for any challenge

Amid renewed tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed on Wednesday that Greece “will face all challenges with consistency, stability, confidence and always with a commitment to international law, as it always does.”...

41. Greece to make massive riot police equipment purchase

Greece is planning purchases worth millions of euros to equip the Hellenic Police’s (ELAS) riot force with shields, helmets, uniforms, bullet-proof vests and other supplies, including large quantities of tear gas, in anticipation of a fresh push on the northeastern border with Turkey by undocumented migrants and refugees trying to force their way into the European Union....

42. Greece, Turkey exchange barbs over migrants

Greece on Thursday pushed back on criticism by Turkey that is violating the rights of refugees and migrants attempting to reach the country, saying Ankara has “instrumentalized human suffering”...

43. Greek FM insists Evros fence will be completed

44. Turkish special forces fire over Greek military vehicle at border, Kathimerini learns

There is evidence of a sharp increase in aggressive behavior by Turkish security forces in both the Aegean and at the Evros land border, Kathimerini has learned. ...

45. Erdogan likens Greek authorities to Nazis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said there is “no difference” between Nazis and the Greek authorities trying to hold the country’s border against the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees spurred to push into the European Union by Ankara....

46. Erdogan says Greece’s treatment of migrants at border ‘murderous’

Turkey intends to take Greece to task over its alleged “maltreatment” of refugees and migrants spurred on by Ankara to push into the European Union through the Greek-Turkish border, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a flight back from Brussels on Tuesday, according to the pro-government Daily Sabah. ...

47. EU executive tells Turkey to take migrants back from Greek border

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey must move refugees and migrants away from the Greek border....

48. The era of asymmetric threats

Kyriakos Mitsotakis would never have expected to star in a Greek edition of the perfect storm. Yet fate and events have put the Greek prime minister in charge of the country at a very crucial moment. He has shown determination in dealing with the migration/refugee issue, which has also bolstered his political image. The public was craving for a strong leader – a notion that was largely eclipsed by a sense of humiliation over the past 10 years....

49. Special force from Cyprus flies to Greece

Nearly two dozen members of Cypriot special security forces have been deployed to Greece’s Evros region to assist in a pushback of undocumented migrants, with reports saying the situation was calmer after a tense weekend...

50. Greek forces use tear gas to repel migrants

Greek riot police and troops used water cannon and tear gas on Wednesday against hundreds of migrants as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece....

51. 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....

52. 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....

53. 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....

54. 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....

55. 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....

56. Migration and geopolitics

The significant increase in the arrival of refugees and migrants recorded on Greece’s Aegean islands over the past few weeks is cause for concern as it indicates that Turkey is seeking to exploit the issue in order to remind the European Union of Ankara’s critical role in containing inflows. ...

57. Pace of migrant arrivals in Greece via land from Turkey quickens

More than 10,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Greece from Turkey through the northern Evros river crossing in the first half of 2018, a non governmental organisation said on Thursday, a quicker pace of arrivals compared to 2017....

58. Turks arrested in Evros given three-month suspended sentence

Four Turkish nationals have been given a three-month suspended sentence after they were arrested Thursday in a restricted zone near the Greek-Turkish border in the Evros region....

59. Four arrested after entering forbidden area near Turkish border

Four Turkish nationals appeared Friday before a prosecutor in Orestiada, northeastern Greece, after being arrested Thursday in a forbidden military area in Evros, the river border separating Greece from Turkey....

60. EU says Greece-Turkey readmission deal required for visa waiver

The agreement between Greece and Turkey for the return of migrants that Ankara suspended on Thursday is a “point of reference” for the EU-Turkey statement on readmissions and constitutes a precondition for the abolition of visas for Turkish citizens, European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said on Friday....