Foreign Ministry spokesperson Koutras’ responded via written statement to yesterday’s statements from a spokesperson for the Chancellor regarding the need for a “coordinated” scheme in the Aegean for confronting the refugee issue.

Foreign Ministry said that “Greece, which guards Europe’s borders in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, never considered assigning to its navy or armed forces in general the task of confronting refugees of war, and nor can it even discuss the novel ideas expressed lately, such as that of joint Greek-Turkish patrolling of maritime borders”.

“The time has arrived, at long last, to stop playing the blame game and focus on the solution,” the statement added.

However, it mentions that Europe’s contribution in protecting European borders is vital.

“It has to be understood by everyone that Greece, at a huge cost, is protecting its borders, which are the external borders of Europe. It goes without saying that the strengthening of the European contribution to this demanding mission would not only be welcome, but is also vital.

Read the full statement here.