The Greek Prime Minister delivered his election speech in front of the border wall with Turkey

Despite the spring weather on the Ankara-Athens line after the earthquake that choked Turkey, the issue of immigration from Turkey stands out as a major issue in the election campaigns that began in Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis made statements to reporters yesterday about the election campaign in front of the steel wall on the Turkish border. Continuing his campaign in the Orestiada region, Mitsotakis has vowed to extend the border wall against immigrants from Turkey if he wins the May 21 election.

Miçotakis shared his photos in front of the wall on his social media account.

SENT A MESSAGE TO Türkiye

Mitsotakis also called on the European Union to provide financial assistance for the extension of the wall along the Turkish border. “After all, we contribute to the security of Europe,” said the Greek prime minister, criticizing the main opposition party SYRIZA, which opposes the government’s strict immigration plan.

Referring to the recent rapprochement with Turkey, Mitsotakis said that they are pleased with this positive atmosphere and want to reciprocate. Emphasizing that they are open-minded but not naive, Mitsotakis stated that they can deal with differences in accordance with international law by creating good conditions before and after the elections.

According to the controversial government plan, the 5-meter-high steel wall on the banks of the Evros river is expected to reach 100 kilometers by 2026. The cost of the plan is estimated to reach 100 million euros.

CRITICISM FROM THE OPPORTUNITY

He argues that with the effect of the earthquake disaster that hit Athens, Turkey and Syria and the warming of the climate, the migration of immigrants has increased rapidly at the Turkish border recently. Greece, which has recently deployed many security forces to the border, is also under fire for its practice of pushing back migrants.

The issue of immigrants at the Turkey-Greece border has been among the issues that have created tension between the two countries for a long time. The wall on the Turkish border also provokes heated debates in the electoral campaigns in Greece.

SYRIZA, which has recently risen in the polls, argues that the right-wing New Democracy government is trying to draw attention to the immigrant problem by diverting attention from the train accident disaster that killed at least 57 people.