Turkey says may cancel migrant readmission deal

UN urges US to continue welcoming refugees

ANKARA Turkey on Friday threatened to scrap a migrant readmission deal with Athens after the Greek Supreme Court refused to return eight suspects allegedly linked to the failed July coup.

“We are now considering what we are going to do,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with state TRT Haber broadcaster.

“We have a readmission agreement between us and Greece, with the European Union. We are going to take necessary steps, including the cancellation of this readmission agreement,” he added.

Turkey and the EU signed last March a landmark agreement which Ankara pledged to take back all illegal migrants landing in Greece to help stem migrant flows to the EU.

The deal helped brake a massive human influx, especially from Syria, that became a hot political and social issue in Europe. There is also an existing agreement between Ankara and Athens on the readmission to Turkey of illegal migrants.

In angry remarks, the foreign minister said Turkey could not “look favourably on a country which protects terrorists, traitors, coup-plotters. Greece needs to know this”.

e Greek court Thursday blocked the extradition of the former Turkish army officers, saying that they would not have a fair trial in Turkey.

Cavusoglu said that the ruling was not judicial but a “political decision”.

The suspects who landed a helicopter in Greece a day after the botched putsch and asked for asylum were also ordered to be released from police custody.

News24 GENEVA The United Nations on Saturday urged US President Donald Trump to continue his country’s “long tradition” of welcoming refugees and to ensure their equal treatment, regardless of race, nationality or religion.

The appeal came in a joint statement from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organisation for Migration in reaction to Trump’s sweeping new executive order on Friday suspending refugee arrivals and imposing tough controls for travellers from seven Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen).

The agencies, which offer frontline assistance to millions of would-be migrants and asylum seekers, hailed the US resettlement programme as “one of the most important in the world.

“The longstanding policy has offered a double win: first by rescuing some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and second by enabling them to enrich their new societies. The contribution of refugees and migrants to their new homes worldwide has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The IOM and the UNHCR “hope that the US will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution”, the statement said.

“We strongly believe that refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race.”

Trump’s decree suspends the entire US refugee resettlement program for at least 120 days while tough new vetting rules are established to confirm asylum seekers do not pose a security threat. News 24