WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States is completing its plans to send a naval ship to the Aegean Sea as part of NATO’s efforts to fight illegal migration, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced in a press conference on Thursday.
"At sea, I informed allies that the United States is finalizing plans to send a naval vessel to the Aegean join NATO’s maritime effort in that region in order to deter illegal migration and human trafficking," Kerry said.
Europe has faced an enormous influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. Many migrants take the Balkan route, which uses Greece as an entry point into the European Union. Migrants then travel via Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary into wealthier EU member states such as Austria and Germany, where they most often apply for asylum.
