Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece faced an unbearable burden due to the sharp increase in the flow of migrants and refugees, and one country can not bear the problem of three continents on its shoulders.
“I’m honest: my country has received – especially in recent months – flows of refugees and migrants, asymmetric in size and population with its population. Our remote islands are suffocating, and inland areas with accommodation structures face the first problems. We control our borders and always care about the migrant population. But no country can bear the problems of the three continents on its shoulders”, – said the Prime Minister, speaking at the 4th summit of European-Arab cooperation.
In his opinion, only together in coordination and cooperation can this great challenge of the 21st century be answered.
“It is clear – and I hope that this will also be discussed during the Forum – that more coordination between Europeans and Arabs is necessary to eliminate the causes of refugees”, – the Prime Minister said.
According to him, a lasting peace should be established in the current hotbeds of the crisis and the strengthening of the countries of origin and reception of refugees. It is also necessary to expand cooperation to combat criminal networks for the transport of migrants, to strengthen border protection for the security of citizens of each country, as well as for the lives of refugees and migrants.
“It is necessary that refugees and immigrants in the Aegean Sea do not become a lever of pressure on foreign interests. Finally, resources are needed so that those who have the right have a new homeland. So that they can be healthy and educated, to be completely integrated into the population of the host state”, – said Mitsotakis.
At the same time, he criticized Turkey.
“The international problem is not solved when at the same time some dispute the data of decades and put forward unacceptable claims. I mean, as you understand, the actions of neighboring Turkey regarding the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus and its behavior in the Aegean Sea. It would be nice not to continue to overload sensitive region of the Eastern Mediterranean. Follow the path of international law and good neighborliness”, – said Mitsotakis.