“We are making great efforts in the Aegean Sea to prevent new tragedies with refugees. The agreement with the European Union has played a deterrent role, and Turkey continues to fulfil its obligations. But we see that the European Union does not follow the readmission mechanism, as required by the agreement, ”Erdogan said late on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who on a visit to Turkey.
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In March 2016, the European Union and Turkey concluded a migration deal in which they agreed that Syrian refugees arriving in Greece would be returned to Turkey if their claim for asylum was rejected, while Syrian asylum seekers in Turkey would be resettled in Europe on a one-for-one basis. Brussels, in turn, vowed to provide financial aid to the country to cover the costs of migrant reception.