Merkel lauds Greek border stance

Chancellor Angela Merkel (l) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (r) are seen yesterday arriving for the German-Greek Economic Forum in Berlin, while protesters call on EU governments to open their borders to refugees.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed during talks yesterday in Berlin that they would wait for the next European Union leaders’ summit on March 26-27 to evaluate Ankara’s behavior and ascertain whether there is any good will on its part for a solution to the migration crisis.

According to sources, Merkel will present a new plan at the summit to replace the existing EU-Turkey migrant deal, which is seen as a dead letter.

At the same time, Mitsotakis conveyed that Athens favors this prospect and that it will not veto a NATO declaration on Syria requested by Ankara, provided it changes its stance on the Evros land border.

Merkel also opined that Greece’s unwavering stance at the border caught Erdogan by surprise, while also praising Mitsotakis for the fact that returns to Turkey of migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected have already started – a perennial German demand.

In her address to the German-Greek Economic Forum in Berlin, Merkel described as “unacceptable” Ankara’s effort to “resolve its own problems at the expense of refugees” who, she added, end up trapped in an impasse at the Greek-Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Erdogan held talks in Brussels yesterday on the migration issue with European Council President Charles Michel and Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. However, no statements were made after the meeting.