Thanos Plevris welcomed his counterparts from Bulgaria and Turkey for critical consultations on asylum and immigration.
At the invitation of Minister Migration and Asylum of Greece, Thanos Plevris, the Minister of Interior of Bulgaria, Emil Dechev, and the Minister of Interior of Turkey, Mustafa Çiftçi, met in Athens for consultations on issues concerning their respective Ministries.
During the meeting, a positive assessment of the ongoing trilateral cooperation was made, with the ministers of the three countries expressing satisfaction with the progress achieved. In addition, views were exchanged on strengthening and deepening cooperation in the common fight against migrant trafficking and migration flows.
They also stressed the need for cooperation in the fight against migrant trafficking networks and expressed their determination to fight organized crime effectively and decisively.
Ministers also closely examined the security situation in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf and exchanged views on the possible impact on migratory flows, which, for the time being, do not appear to be a cause for concern.
Bulgaria’s Minister of Interior underlined the strategic nature of the trilateral ministerial framework, which has become an established and valuable platform for constructive and results-oriented cooperation.
Bulgaria firmly believes in the added value of the trilateral dialogue and remains a firm supporter of its continuity and sustainability. In this context, Dechev reaffirmed the fundamental importance of today’s meeting in Athens, as it reinforces mutual trust both at the political and professional level and contributes to the common goal of ensuring enhanced security and stability of the region and Europe as a whole.
In addition, Dechev stressed that Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey will remain ambitious and continue to build on the progress achieved so far, particularly in areas such as border security, combating irregular migration, fighting migrant smuggling networks and implementing effective returns, which remain central to joint efforts in an increasingly complex regional and international security environment.
Turkey’s Minister of Interior highlighted the positive results achieved thanks to the effective fight against irregular migration by the Turkish authorities, conducted within the framework of international law and humanitarian values, stating that, thanks to the deterrent effect created by these efforts, Turkey has now largely ceased to be a destination and transit country for irregular migration.
He stressed that international cooperation, in particular the ongoing Tripartite Mechanism with Greece and Bulgaria, has also made a significant contribution to this process. He said that migrant trafficking is a critical source of income for terrorist organisations and organised criminal networks and, therefore, the fight against irregular migration must be addressed in parallel and complementary to the fight against terrorism and organised crime. He also thanked Thanos Plevris and the Greek authorities for organizing this important meeting and for their hospitality.
Thanos Plevris, warmly welcomed his distinguished counterparts. He outlined Greece’s strict policy to combat illegal immigration in terms of managing migration flows along its land and maritime borders. <He welcomed the level of trilateral cooperation and the fact that the flows have been significantly reduced, and stressed the need to further intensify the fight against smuggling networks and traffickers on maritime routes. He also expressed Greece’s interest in implementing a strong return policy to countries of origin.
Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece reaffirmed their commitment to maintain a frank and constructive dialogue to combat illegal migration and related migrant smuggling networks
.
