ATHENS – Greece’s borders are secure, with roughly 1,500 migrants prevented from entering illegally each day at Evros, while it has at no time harboured terrorists, Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos repeated on Wednesday in an interview with the radio station “Parapolitika”, in response to provocative statements made by Turkish officials following a terrorist attack in Istanbul.

The minister also spoke about the phone tapping affair and the proposed legislative reforms of the operation of the Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP), an increase in the rate of murder cases solved by the Hellenic Police in 2022 and the events to commemorate the Polytechnic uprising of 1973.

According to Theodorikakos, the phone tapping issue was of little interest to the general public voters, while those making the accusations “understand that there are no crimes and that they have no evidence,” to support them.

He said that this issue was being used to “slander the prime minister and the ND government” by those “who have nothing to say about the issues that truly interest the Greek people.”

On the legislation reforming the operation of EYP that was unveiled for public consultation on Tuesday, he said the measures “modernise the entire operational framework and give guarantees of better operation to Greek society.”

The minister reported that the rate of solving cases of murder and attempted murder by the police had exceeded 90 pct in 2022, stressing that no case was closed until fully solved.

He again rejected Turkish assertions about Greece in the wake of a terrorist attack on Sunday, noting that Greece has never harboured terrorists and is governed by the rule of law.

“We guard our borders efficiently and we do not allow terrorists to enter our country,” he emphasised, while accusing Turkey of continuing to send roughly 1,500 migrants every night to attempt illegal crossings of the Greek border, who are turned back by the Greek police and army.

Theodorikakos also urged those participating in the events for the Polytechnic uprising to demonstrate peacefully and isolate those seeking to create violent incidents.