Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and visiting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told a news conference that they will step up technical cooperation between their coast guards and ministries to manage huge migration flows, but there was no indication Turkey will acquiesce to the creation of hot spots to register refugees and migrants on its territory, as Athens has demanded.
Davutoglu and Tsipras in joint remarks depicted their countries as the victims of the refugee crisis, with Turkey hosting about 2.5 million migrants on its territory, and Greece receiving over 650,000 this year.
Tsipras called for greater cooperation in tracking down and prosecuting human traffickers who route hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants to the Greek islands of the Aegean, a request to which Davutoglu offered no response in his public remarks.
In that context, Tsipras noted the need to actively implement a Greek-Turkish agreement to return migrants to Turkish shores, and he underlined the importance of concluding an EU-Turkey agreement that would facilitate the relocation of migrants, for which Germany is also pressing hard.
Tsipras said that the two countries' ministries of foreign affairs, migration and public order will seek closer coordination in managing migration flows, and that an inter-governmental conference – the fourth - is planned for this coming February.
With Cyprus settlement talks ongoing, Tsipras expressed “guarded optimism” that there is currently an opportunity for a solution based on relevant EU resolutions and the EU acquis. He also said a settlement must abolish the third party guarantors (Greece, Turkey, Britain) of Cyprus' independence established in the 1960 constitution and treaty of guarantee, which Turkey believes should remain in effect.
Turkey used the Treaty of Guarantee as the legal pretext for its 1974 invasion and occupation of nearly 40 percent of the island.
Asked if he would help Turkey unblock several negotiating chapters blocked by the Republic of Cyprus, Tsipras said Athens is positive about opening chapters but that the talks will close only as Turkey completely meets its commitments and obligations.
As usual, the Greek and Turkish leaders spoke of the importance of confidence building measures, noting the possibility of a super-fast Thessaloniki-Istanbul train line and of a passenger ship line connecting Izmir and Thessaloniki.
Asked about the creation of a mosque in Athens, Tsipras told reporters that the Greek government has already decided to proceed, but that the issue does not concern bilateral relations or the Muslim minority in Western Thrace, which has many mosques in the area.
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