- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Greek Envoy Recalled From Austria Over Exclusion From Vienna Talks

© REUTERS / Michalis KaragiannisRefugees and migrants walk after disembarking from passenger ferry Blue Star1 at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, February 20, 2016.
Refugees and migrants walk after disembarking from passenger ferry Blue Star1 at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, February 20, 2016. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Makis Voridis, a lawmaker from the Greece's New Democracy Party, said that Athens is discontented with the initiative taken by the Austrian government in convening a conference on the migration issues without inviting Greece.

Migrants queue on the platform, waiting for a train at Vienna west railway station, Austria September 13, 2015 - Sputnik International
Austria, Balkan Countries Meet to Unite Against Merkel's Migration Policy
VIENNA (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — Greece has withdrawn its ambassador from Austria as a mark of discontent with not being invited to a conference in Vienna on migration with other Balkan states, Makis Voridis, a lawmaker from the New Democracy Party, told Sputnik on Friday.

"What has happened: the Greek government called back the Greek ambassador in Austria for consultations back to Athens. This is a diplomatic move that shows that Athens is discontented with the initiative taken by the Austrian government in convening a conference on the migration issues without inviting Greece," Voridis explained.

Migrants and refugees react as they arrive on a dinghy from the Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015. - Sputnik International
Greece Refuses to Be Only EU Country to Accept Refugees
The "Managing Migration Together" meeting took place in the Austrian capital last Wednesday. All Balkan states — Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia — were invited except Greece. Athens believes the crisis cannot be worked out without its participation.

"In our view, this is not going to work because Greece is pivotal to how these things with migration are going to be handled. This conference will arrive at no practical results," Voridis warned.

Greece is used as a gateway by hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe. After coming ashore on Greek islands, many of them head north in search of passageways to more affluent Germany and Sweden.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала