FYROM: 1,500 refugees crossed borders illegally have returned to Greece

Greek government denies that the refugees have been returned to Greece

The situation regarding the refugee issue continues to being chaotic with Greek government insisting that it will seek for an official diplomatic solution in cooperation with FYROM regarding the refugees who entered the neighboring country illegally.

On Monday, about 1,500 refugees and immigrants crossed Greek-FYROM border illegally on foot. FYROM’s Interior Ministry announced that all people entered the country illegally have already been returned to Greece, while authorities prevented about 600 immigrants more from crossing the border, according to a statement issued by FYROM.

However, the Greek government denies that and the Minister responsible for the coordination of the actions on refugee issue, Dimitris Vitsas, stressed that “the diplomatic way will be followed”.

“We do not know this (ie. the refugees have returned to Greece),” Mr. Vitsas told SKAI TV channel adding: “Everything will be done officially, complying with diplomatic rules, we know nothing else. The command is to follow normal practice, and everything else is illegal, based on international law.”

“If FYROM returns the refugees, it will violate the Geneva Convention,” Mr. Vitsas said.