"The defense minister told the NATO secretary general about the need for an immediate start of the activities on the entire territory along the Greek islands, from Limnos to Kastellorizo and Gavdos and along the coast of the Anatolian peninsula. Greek positions were received," the statement reads.
On February 11, defense ministers of the 28 NATO member states decided to send the Alliance's naval ships to the Aegean Sea to monitor the flow of migrants between Turkey and Greece.
The EU states are currently struggling to deal with a refugee influx, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Frontex recorded more than 1.8 million illegal border crossings into the bloc in 2015. Greece is the main transit route for refugees coming across the Aegean Sea from Turkey.
