ATHENS – In a strongly worded reply to Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu concerning the situation on the Greek border, Alternate Migration and Asylum Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos on Monday accused Turkey of using the hopes of poor and unfortunate migrants and refugees to blackmail Europe.

“Turkey, which systematically ignores and violates international law, and which has now come face to face with the dead ends [created by] its policy, is exploiting the hopes of unfortunate people to blackmail Europe, placing their lives and the region’s stability and security at risk. It can neither make suggestions nor accuse Greece of anything,” Koumoutsakos said, adding: “Only an immediate change to its dangerous policy can extricate [Turkey] from the dead ends it has created for itself.”