Athens has initiated "diplomatic moves" to persuade Macedonia to allow Afghan migrants to transit the country. Thousands of migrants have amassed at the border after Macedonia refused to allow Afghans entry.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Mitrolidis
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Ioannis Mouzalas, Greece's junior interior minister for migration, said on Monday that Athens is taking action to persuade Macedonian authorities to allow Afghan migrants.
On Sunday, Macedonia refused to allow Afghans to enter the country. According to Greek police, some 5,000 refugees and migrants were stranded due to Skopje's move.
"We have begun diplomatic moves. ... We believe the problem will be resolved," Mouzalas said in a televised statement.
Around 3,000 other migrants were blocked from leaving Athens after arriving at the port of Piraeus in order to avert a crisis at Greece's border with Macedonia.
"We are making preparations so that even if the problem is not resolved, if there is a violation of European decisions by Serbia and Skopje, to be able to manage the problem that will be created in Greece," Mouzalas added.
Macedonia said it would allow Syrian and Iraqi refugees to transit through the country on their journey towards Germany and other well-off EU nations.
The move comes as EU authorities push for a comprehensive action plan with Turkey to curb migration to the 28-nation bloc.
More than one million asylum seekers entered the EU in 2015, many of them fleeing war in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
On Friday, European Council President Donald Tusk announced a special EU meeting with Turkey slated for early March to bolster cooperation in managing the wave of migration to Europe.
World Press Photo award 2016
Refugee crisis was one of 2015’s the most talked about topics in the world. A photo linked to that issue won this year’s World Press Photo of the Year, the most prestigious award for photo journalism.
Image: Christian Walgram/GEPA pictures
Warren Richardson, Australia
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Image: Warren Richardson
Mauricio Lima, Brazil
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Image: Mauricio Lima/The New York Times
Zhang Lei, China
This is northern China’s Tianjin city cloaked in haze on December 10, 2015. The photo, commissioned by the Tianjin Daily, bagged top prize in the contemporary issues category.
Image: Zhang Lei/Tianjin Daily
Kevin Frayer, Canada
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Image: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Mary F. Calvert, USA
This photo, captured on March 21, 2014, received top prize in the long term projects category. The picture shows Natasha Schuette (21), who was rewarded by the US Army for her courage in reporting an assault by her drill sergeant during basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Image: Mary F. Calvert
Rohan Kelly, Australia
No time for panic! A sunbather was reading while a massive 'cloud tsunami' loomed over Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia on November 6, 2015. The photo placed top in the nature category.
Image: Rohan Kelly/Daily Telegraph
Matic Zorman, Slovenia
In the people category, a photo related to Europe’s refugee crisis collected 1st prize. The photo captured a child covered with a raincoat while waiting in line to register at a refugee camp in Preševo, Serbia, on October 7, 2015.
Image: Matic Zorman
Christian Walgram, Austria
Walgram took this photo on February 15, 2015 at the FIS World Championships held in the US. The photo, which took top honors in the sports category, shows the Czech Republic's Ondrej Bank crashing during the downhill race of the Alpine Combined event in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
