European Union leaders have praised Greece for acting as a Europe's "shield" in deterring migrants at a time when the country's northern borders with Turkey have witnessed days of clashes between police and migrants desperate to cross over.
In a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the border town of Orestiada on Tuesday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described Greece as the "European aspida" and announced nearly USD 783 million in EU funds for the country, including nearly USD 391 million to be available immediately to upgrade infrastructure at the border, as per a report by the Guardian.
The meeting between Mitsotakis, European Commission president and three other EU leaders was held in Orestiada -- the border town near to the place where Greek police used tear gas to deter hundreds of migrants who attempted to cross over after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his country would no longer stop migrants who wished to enter the EU.
The meeting took place at a time when Athens and Ankara are involved in a diplomatic row over clashes witnessed between police and migrants at the borders between the two countries.
Turkey has said that Greek soldiers had killed three migrants attempting to enter the country -- a claim which has been dismissed by Athens as misinformation.
"We dismissed this as misinformation yesterday via our government spokesman. How can there be a third fatality when there weren't any at all yesterday?" a Greek foreign ministry spokesman said.
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The report further cited Mitsotakis as saying that Turkey had become "the official trafficker of migrants to the European Union" and was using "desperate people to promote this geopolitical agenda and to divert attention from the horrible situation in Syria".
Meanwhile, UN refugee has questioned the Greek government's move to suspend all asylum applications for one month.
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