They have been trying to broadcast a message of reconciliation for the last two days. Hellas And Türkiye on the occasion of the question of migration flows in Evros. Yesterday morning, at the initiative of the Turkish authorities, most of the approximately 300 refugees and migrants stranded for several days on an island in the river, near the Nea Vyssa.

Police sources told K that yesterday morning the Turkish civil protection forces removed most of the foreigners from the island, transporting them deep into Turkey. Earlier, Turkish authorities used megaphones and loudspeakers to urge refugees and migrants to leave the scene. A similar tactic using audio messages was used by the Greek authorities. The operation to remove migrants from the border continued until yesterday evening.

The presence of foreigners on a particular island of Evros was made public by a public organization Alarm Phone Back on June 3, and late on Tuesday evening, in its latest Twitter post, the organization spoke about three different groups on the island, numbering a total of 330 people. “Many of them were stuck on the island for several days,” the NGO said.

The presence of migrants on the islet in question, as well as on the second in the Marasia region (they were removed by the Greek authorities) alerted the Greek side, together with the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Vassilis Cascarelis and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan have a telephone connection on Tuesday evening. As it became known from the official Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kaskarelis congratulated his Turkish counterpart on taking office, and during the conversation the issue of illegal immigration was discussed. Initial consultations were held at the level of the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection by Greece and the Ministry of the Interior of Turkey, in fact through a written request at a low level (operational) from Athens to Ankara. According to competent sources, it was the communication between the two ministers that accelerated the development of events, and in just a few hours the Turkish authorities began to remove the refugees from the island. Acting Minister of Civil Protection also made statements on the Euros issue Charalambos Lalouzis, which was found in Thrace on the occasion of the funeral of former A/GETHA Michalis Kostarakos. Mr. Lalouzis stated that the situation at the border is not like the spring of 2020, and in fact, speaking to reporters, he clarified that “Turkey does not use immigration as a tool.” The Evros River is low, it is a natural vegetation that favors attempts to penetrate the territory of Greece,” he said.

Athens and Ankara over the past two days have been trying to create an image of mutual understanding on the topic of migration flows.

Greek police officials, as well as the Coast Guard, have made it clear since the beginning of the week talking to “K” no increase in migration flows on the land and sea borders of Greece with Turkey. And they attributed the temporary escalation of the problem to the choice of groups of smugglers to send illegal migrants to the islets along Evros.

“They choose this method, given that in this way they exert political pressure and force the Greek authorities to proceed with the rescue of foreigners,” commented a senior EL.AS officer. He added that migratory pressure at the border is decreasing compared to last year.

Communication Michel – Erdogan

European Council President Charles Michel called Tayyip Erdogan and congratulated him on his re-election. During the communication, regional issues were also assessed, with Mr. Erdogan saying that “in the context of Turkey’s full integration into the EU, which is of great strategic importance for Europe, it is necessary to intensify contacts at all levels with a concrete and positive agenda.” Emphasizing the importance of cooperation in the areas of renewing the Customs Union, ensuring visa liberalization, managing immigration and combating terrorism, Mr. Erdogan stated that “Turkey’s fair treatment and support for promising full integration will open new horizons in the relations between the two sides” .