MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Steinmeier told Heilbronner Stimme that he expected a full implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement which includes that "the EU actively supports Greece in addressing the refugee crisis."
Earlier this week, Steinmeier criticized the countries of the Balkan migration route for their decision to cope with refugee inflow by closing borders, which has resulted in a humanitarian emergency in Greece.
According to the German foreign minister, some 100,000 people would be trying to "survive" on the Greek-Macedonia border if it were not for the Brussels-Ankara refugee deal.
In late March, Turkey and the European Union reached an agreement to put an end to the so-called Balkan route used by migrants to travel through Greece and Macedonia to wealthier EU states.
Under the deal, Turkey pledged to take back all illegal migrants who arrive in the European Union through its border and in their place send legal Syrian refugees to the bloc on a one-for-one basis.
Since January 2015, an estimated million refugees have entered Greece from Turkey.
