ATHENS – The battle for the protection of Greece’s borders in Evros, which is under the greatest pressure from the attempts of migrants and refugees to illegally enter the country, continues with unabated intensity and vigilance, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated on Friday, while chairing a video conference on the situation at the Greek-Turkish border.

The meeting included Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis, Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos, State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Lefteris Economou, Deputy Defence Minister Alkiviadis Stefanis, the head of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros and the prime minister’s general secretary, Grigoris Dimitriadis.

“A chapter might be closing but have no doubts that this battle continues. We have managed to secure a very significant entitlement for our country and for Europe. The capability – and effectiveness – of protecting our land and sea borders,” said Mitsotakis.

He congratulated the Greek Police and the Armed Forces and all those that contributed to this very difficult effort to protect the borders in the last month. The fact that Greece may possibly not face the same intense pressure in the next days, weeks or months, he added, does not mean that the country should not have established a mechanism for the protection of its borders, which are also the European borders, so that no one was in a position to blackmail either Greece and Europe again, as had been attempted in the last month.

The meeting emphasised the need to continue reinforcing the fence on the Evros border and to redeploy the forces there without any relaxation of vigilance, as well as stressing the need to protect the sea borders and the importance of a continuous European presence in Evros and the islands.