Ankara has urged Athens to again try eight Turkish soldiers that fled to Greece after the recent failed coup attempt. Turkey is reportedly considering breaking the EU-Turkey migrant deal, should Greece refuse, and this decision might have repercussions all across Europe.
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AFP 2016/ OZAN KOSE
"We demanded that the eight soldiers be tried again. This
is a political decision, Greece is protecting and hosting coup
plotters," Cavusoglu said in an interview with a Turkish TV station.
"As a country which experienced coups in its past, Greece,
with this decision, has unfortunately become a country which protects
coup plotters," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a separate
statement.
Turkey has threatened to cancel its commitment to the
migrant deal, intended to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants to the
European Union, over the matter.
"We are evaluating what we can do. There is a migration
deal we signed, including a readmission deal with Greece, and we are
evaluating what we can do, including the cancellation of the readmission
deal with Greece," Cavusoglu added.
European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud, refuting
the threats, said that she was confident that the migrant deal would
remain in place.
"The EU-Turkey statement continues to be applied by both sides and we are confident that it will remain the case."
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has observed that the
Greek justice system is independent from the government and its
decisions are binding, even when it comes to international affairs.
"The Greek government has vehemently condemned […] the coup
attempt and supported the democratically elected government in our
neighboring country," Tsipras noted.
He also added that, "those responsible for the coup are not welcome in our country."
The soldiers, who remain in police custody "for reasons
of national security," according to Greek state agency ANA, claim that
they had nothing to do with the attempt to overthrow Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stating that they fled because they were afraid
for their lives.
Ankara has become skeptical of the migration deal it signed
with the EU, since the bloc has not fulfilled a part of the bargain
which includes providing Turkish citizens visa-free travel. Recent
developments may become a cause for the termination of the deal.
According to Deutsche Welle, a number of Turkish citizens
are currently hiding in various NATO countries, of which both Greece and
Turkey are member states. Despite that relations between the two
countries has improved recently, memories of a 1996 crisis are still
vivid.
"The fate of [the soldiers] is likely to be a test marker
for the rest of the military alliance," according to a Deutsche Welle
report. SputnikNews
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