Greek officials Saturday declined to comment on a report it will send some 750 migrants back to Turkey from Monday to kick off a controversial EU readmission deal.
The report by state news agency ANA said the operation would take migrants from the island of Lesbos to the Turkish port of Dikili between Monday and Wednesday.
“Planning is in progress,” Yiorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for Greece’s refugee coordination unit, told AFP, while declining to comment further.
ANA said EU border agency Frontex had chartered two Turkish leisure vessels for the purpose, and that Frontex police would be on hand to escort the migrants on a one-to-one basis.
Government officials have been tight-lipped on the scheme, which has attracted strong criticism on ethical grounds from the United Nations refugee agency and aid groups.