BERLIN – Greece cannot be abandoned to fend for itself, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said late on Monday, referring to the situation on the Greek-Turkish border. He also underlined that refugees could not be left at the mercy of geopolitical interests and that those attempting this “should expect our resistance,” regardless of who they are.

The European Union is ready to contribute its share to the humanitarian care of the refugees, in Syria and Turkey among others, Maas said. While acknowledging that Turkey has taken on a great burden of nearly four million refugees, he noted “that the European Union must remind it that it has an obligation to meet its commitments.”

A reply to Maas came from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu via Twitter on Tuesday, who noted that “I would gladly believe your words of warning. But only if you also talked to your Greek friends, who are killing refugees on their borders without mercy.”

(ANA/ F. Karaviti)