European Council President Donald Tusk visits Greece and Turkey to discuss the migrant crisis at it
European Council President Donald Tusk visitsGreece and Turkey Thursday and Friday to discussthe migrant crisis at its front lines.
Tusk is aiming to ease tensions among EuropeanUnion members before a meeting with Turkey on themigration issue. The meeting is scheduled forMonday in Brussels.
Tusk is expected to hold talks with Greek officials in Athens Thursday, followed on Friday by ameeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.
Turkey, Greece, and other Balkan nations are dealing with an overload of migrants from theMiddle East and northern Africa who want to pass through on their way west, to Germany andother wealthier nations. Greece, which was already in a tight financial situation before themigrant crisis began, has asked for more than $500 million from the European Union to help ithandle expenses.
Turkey has offered to sign readmission agreements with 14 countries, which would enableAnkara to quickly take back migrants rejected by the EU, a foreign ministry spokesman said.