Minister of Interior | Sanctions on Turkish airlines transporting illegal immigrants to the occupied territories

Defence Redefined

Published on 06/02/2022 at 13:00

Interior Minister, Nikos Nouris, demanded the imposition of sanctions on all Turkish airlines that regularly transport illegal immigrants to occupied Cyprus during his speech at the Informal Council of Interior Ministers in France.

According to a statement, the first Informal Council of Interior Ministers under the French Presidency discussed France’s procedural proposal for the Immigration and Asylum Pact to go one step further and break the deadlock in the process.

Mr. Nouris, in his speech at the Informal Council of Interior Ministers in Lille, France, said that Cyprus clearly supports the French initiative, but at the same time stressed that this can be easily implemented if key issues are clarified.

In an effort to assist in this direction, Cyprus made specific suggestions with the Minister emphasizing that it is time for decisions, because Europe is in danger given that new immigrant flows may soon emerge.

On the issue of the external dimension of immigration raised by the French Presidency, Cyprus, through the Minister of the Interior, supported the need for the active and generous support of third countries, in order to enable the retention of their nationals in their country of origin, with FRONTEX taking an active role in monitoring their external borders by blocking outflows.

Mr. Nouris called for the case to be extended to Turkey, with surveillance extending to the southern Turkish coast as well as to Istanbul airport, from which thousands of illegal African immigrants depart for Tympus airport, and, as he said, are then forwarded by traffickers to the areas controlled by the Republic, through the green line.

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As part of the implementation of a balanced approach to the issue, the Minister suggested that the same applies to the case of Lithuania, such as the imposition of sanctions on all Turkish airlines that regularly transport illegal migrants in occupied Cyprus.

Cyprus has called for a dialogue between the European Commission and Turkey to discuss the lack of cooperation with Member-States on immigration, including Cyprus.

The Minister stated that on behalf of Cyprus he unreservedly supports the initiative of the French Presidency as well as the statement of President Emmanuel Macron himself for an agreement that must, however, be based on solidarity and responsibility. “And this solidarity must include the obligation of the Member-States to relocate a number of immigrants from those countries, which bear the greatest immigrant burden,” said Mr. Nouris.

Following a prior consultation of the French and Cypriot Interior Ministers, on the sidelines of the Summit, the Cypriot delegation met with representatives of the French Immigration Service, to discuss the possibility of concluding a memorandum of return, especially to African countries, so as to assist Cyprus. 

Source: Ministry of Interior

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