Greek trench near border, a 'palliative' solution

The Greek move to dig a trench near its Turkish border is a "palliative" solution and might deepen Greece's financial problems, Turkey's minister of the EU affairs said Friday. "For a more effective solution, Greece should have chosen to increase its cooperation with Turkey against irregular migration rather than coming up with palliative solutions," Egemen Bagis told AFP in a written statement. "Such solutions might seem to save the day but do not tackle the real sources of the problem and bring the risk of facing deeper problems in the future as the financial crisis has proven," he said. Greece is digging a 120-kilometre (75-mile) trench near its border with Turkey to hold back recurring river floods but also to stem illegal immigration, Ta Nea daily had reported last week. Some 14.5 kilometres have been dug so far. Athens has also announced plans to erect a 12.5-kilometre fence in the area, which is a common overland entry point for immigrants, but the project has yet to be launched. "Turkey as a negotiating country with the EU has concerns about such moves by Greece," Bagis said. "We are working on structural reforms and measures in order to better manage our borders, address the challenges linked to migration flows and create a sound and efficient asylum system," he added. Athens nearly went bankrupt last year and has been forced to accept multi-billion-euro bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Turkey and the European Union are at an impasse in talks over Ankara's bid to join the bloc, which have faltered largely due to a deadlock over the divided island of Cyprus, which joined the union in 2004.