Turkey blames Greece for death of 31 migrants on Aegean

ANKARA

AA photo

Turkey has accused Greece of causing the death of 31 migrants in the Aegean Sea on Jan. 5, claiming that the Greek authorities forced migrant boats that later capsized in the Aegean to return to Turkey.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy head and spokesperson Ömer Çelik told a press conference in Ankara on Jan. 6 that the Greek naval authorities directed boats carrying a total of 55 migrants back to Turkey, leading to the tragedy. 

“The whole international community is failing these people who are escaping tyranny. Closing the borders to these people and directing [migrant boats] back to Turkey with [naval] vessels are not feasible solutions [to the migrant crisis],” state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Çelik as saying.

His statement came a day after the Turkish authorities announced that the bodies of 31 migrants had been found on Turkey’s Aegean coast, after their boats sank in bad weather while trying to cross over to the Greek island of Lesbos.