Greece may extend North Africa asylum ban if migrant flow resurges
In July the centre-right government stopped processing asylum requests from migrants arriving from North Africa by sea for at least three months in an effort to curb arrivals from Libya to the Greek island of Crete.
In an interview with public broadcaster ERT, Plevris said he could not rule out an extension to the suspension if there was a "new crisis".
Arrivals of irregular migrants in Crete declined rapidly after the new legislation took effect from 2,642 in the first week of July to 900 in the whole period since then.
New legislation is being prepared that will clearly define that "whoever comes into the country illegally will face a jail term of up to five years," Plevris said, referring to those who are not fleeing armed conflict, who could qualify for asylum.
Human rights groups accuse Greece of turning back asylum-seekers by force on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.
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Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Trump tells Zelenskiy U.S. would help with Ukraine's security in a peace deal
Zelenskiy accuses Russia of attacks to undermine Trump talks Trump pressures Ukraine to compromise, warns against NATO aspirations European leaders seek strong security guarantees for Ukraine By Andrea Shalal and Max Hunder But he also suggested to reporters that he no longer believed reaching a ceasefire was a necessary prerequisite for striking a peace agreement, backing a position staked out by Russian President Vladimir Putin and opposed by Zelenskiy and most European leaders. The two leaders took questions from the media in the Oval Office before meeting in private, six months after their last appearance there descended into disaster when Trump and Vice President JD Vance upbraided Zelenskiy in an extraordinary apublic dressing-down. This time, Trump and Zelenskiy struck a far more convivial tone, despite the U.S. president's movement toward Russia in recent days following his summit in Alaska with Putin. And Zelenskiy was backed by the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO, who traveled to Washington to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine and push for strong security guarantees for the country in any post-war settlement. 'When it comes to security, there's going to be a lot of help,' Trump told reporters, adding that European countries would be involved. 'They are a first line of defence because they're there, but we'll help them out.' Trump greeted Zelenskiy outside the White House, shaking his hand and expressing delight at Zelenskiy's black suit, a departure from his typical military clothes. When a reporter asked Trump what his message was to the people of Ukraine, he said twice, 'We love them.' Zelenskiy thanked him, and Trump put his hand on Zelenskiy's back in a show of affection before the two men went inside to the Oval Office. Trump is pressing for a quick end to Europe's deadliest war in 80 years, and Kyiv and its allies worry he could seek to force an agreement on Russia's terms after the president on Friday in Alaska rolled out the red carpet – literally – for Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Trump said he liked the concept of a ceasefire, but they could work on a peace deal while the fighting continued. 'I wish they could stop, I'd like them to stop,' he said. 'But strategically that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other.' He also said he believes Putin wants to end the war and that he hopes the three leaders can soon organize a trilateral meeting. Putin has not committed to such a meeting, though Zelenskiy said he is ready to sit down. 'We need to stop this war, to stop Russia and we need support – American and European partners,' Zelenskiy told reporters. The European leaders were to meet with Trump later on Monday, according to the White House. Such a high-level gathering at the White House on such short notice appears to be unprecedented in recent times. Russian attacks overnight on Ukrainian cities killed at least 10 people, in what Zelenskiy called a 'cynical' effort to undermine talks. Trump has rejected accusations that the Alaska summit had been a win for Putin, who has faced diplomatic isolation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 'I know exactly what I'm doing, and I don't need the advice of people who have been working on all of these conflicts for years, and were never able to do a thing to stop them,' Trump wrote on social media. Trump's team has said there will have to be compromises on both sides to end the conflict. But the president himself has put the burden on Zelenskiy to end the war, saying Ukraine should give up hopes of getting back Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, or of joining the NATO military alliance. PUTIN'S PROPOSALS Zelenskiy has already all but rejected the outline of Putin's proposals from the Alaska meeting. Those include handing over the remaining quarter of its eastern Donetsk region, which is largely controlled by Russia. Ukrainian forces are deeply dug into the region, whose towns and hills serve as a crucial defensive zone to stymie Russian attacks. Any concession of Ukrainian territory would have to be approved by a referendum. Ukraine and its allies have taken heart from some developments, including Trump's apparent willingness to provide post-settlement security guarantees for Ukraine. A German government spokesperson said on Monday that European leaders would seek more details on that in the talks in Washington. The war, which began with a full-scale invasion by Russia in February 2022, has killed or wounded more than a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts, and destroyed wide swaths of the country. Putin himself faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, adding controversy to Trump's decision to invite him to Alaska. Russia has been slowly grinding forward on the battlefield, pressing its advantages in men and firepower. Putin says he is ready to continue fighting until his military objectives are achieved. Officials in Ukraine said a drone attack on a residential complex in the northern city of Kharkiv killed at least seven people, including a toddler and her 16-year-old brother. Strikes in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed three people, they said. Russia says it does not deliberately target civilians, and the Defense Ministry's daily report did not refer to any strike on Kharkiv. Local resident Olena Yakusheva said the attack hit an apartment block that was home to many families. 'There are no offices here or anything else, we lived here peacefully in our homes,' she said. Ukraine's military said on Monday that its drones had struck an oil pumping station in Russia's Tambov region, leading to the suspension of supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Zelensky warns against ‘rewarding' Russia after Trump urges concessions
As Trump pushes Ukraine to concede territory for peace, Zelensky has doubled down, saying Crimea and NATO membership are non-negotiable. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with Donald Trump on Monday that Russia should not be 'rewarded' for its invasion, after the US leader pressed Ukraine to make concessions in exchange for peace. The talks, in which European leaders will also take part, follows a Friday summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that failed to produce a ceasefire in the nearly three-and-a-half-year war. Trump, who dropped his insistence on a ceasefire in favor of a final peace deal after meeting Putin, said Sunday that Zelensky could end the war 'almost immediately, if he wants to' but that, for Ukraine, there was 'no getting back' Crimea and 'NO GOING INTO NATO.' European leaders join the negotiations Kyiv and European leaders have warned against making political and territorial concessions to Russia, whose assault on Ukraine since February 2022 has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. 'Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war…. And it is Moscow that must hear the word: Stop,' Zelensky said in a Facebook post early Monday. Trump and Zelensky are expected to meet one-on-one before being joined by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland, as well as NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, according to the White House. The European leaders will also hold a preparatory meeting with Zelensky ahead of talks with Trump, the European Union said. Ahead of Monday's meeting, China called for 'all parties' to agree to peace 'as soon as possible.' It will be the first visit by Zelensky to Washington since a February bust-up with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, when the two men berated the Ukrainian leader for being 'ungrateful.' Russian strikes intensify ahead of talks Russia kept up its attacks on Ukraine ahead of the new talks, firing at least 140 drones and four ballistic missiles at the country between late Sunday and early Monday, the Ukrainian air force said. ALSO READ: Trump-Putin summit: What we know A Russian drone attack on a five-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv just before dawn killed at least seven people, including a one-and-a-half year old girl, authorities said. Zelensky called the strikes an attempt to 'humiliate diplomatic efforts.' Ukrainian shelling attacks in the Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Donetsk regions meanwhile killed two people, Moscow-installed authorities said. Territories at stake Russia currently occupies a fifth of Ukraine. It annexed Crimea in 2014 following a referendum denounced as a sham by Kyiv and the West, and did the same in 2022 in four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia — even though its forces have not fully captured them. Russia controls Crimea and is largely in control of the Lugansk region, but not the other three regions. Russia has suggested it might 'freeze' the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in exchange for getting control of land not already captured in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. A source briefed on a phone call between Trump and European leaders on Saturday told AFP that the US leader was 'inclined to support' this proposal. ALSO READ: Trump to meet Putin in high-stakes Alaska summit But Zelensky has repeatedly shot down the notion of ceding territory to Moscow, and says he is constitutionally bound not to give away Crimea. Yevgeniy Sosnovsky, a photographer from the captured Ukrainian city of Mariupol, said he 'cannot understand' how Ukraine would cede land already under its control. 'Ukraine cannot give up any territories, not even those occupied by Russia,' he told AFP. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow had made 'some concessions' on territory, and that there was an 'important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there.' 'That discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday,' he told CNN, without giving details. Security guarantees and NATO concerns Washington has not placed extra sanctions on Moscow, and the lavish welcome offered to Putin in Alaska on his first visit to the West since he invaded Ukraine in 2022 was seen as a diplomatic coup for Russia. But Trump has raised the possibility of a collective defense guarantee for Ukraine similar to the one in place for NATO members, once the war is over. The promise would be outside of the framework of the Western military alliance that Ukraine wants to join and which is seen as an existential threat by Russia. Speaking in Brussels on the eve of his visit to the United States, Zelensky said he was keen to hear more about what Putin and Trump discussed in Alaska. He also hailed Washington's offer of security guarantees to Ukraine as 'historic.' NOW READ: Russia suggests Trump is emboldening Ukraine, delaying peace
eNCA
4 days ago
- eNCA
Zelensky warns against 'rewarding' Russia after Trump urges concessions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with Donald Trump on Monday that Russia should not be "rewarded" for its invasion, after the US leader pressed Ukraine to make concessions in exchange for peace. The talks, in which European leaders will also take part, follows a Friday summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that failed to produce a ceasefire in the nearly three-and-a-half-year war. Trump, who dropped his insistence on a ceasefire in favor of a final peace deal after meeting Putin, said Sunday that Zelensky could end the war "almost immediately, if he wants to" but that, for Ukraine, there was "no getting back" Crimea and "NO GOING INTO NATO." Kyiv and European leaders have warned against making political and territorial concessions to Russia, whose assault on Ukraine since February 2022 has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. "Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war.... And it is Moscow that must hear the word: Stop," Zelensky said in a Facebook post early Monday. Trump and Zelensky are expected to meet one-on-one before being joined by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland, as well as NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, according to the White House. The European leaders will also hold a preparatory meeting with Zelensky ahead of talks with Trump, the European Union said. Ahead of Monday's meeting, China called for "all parties" to agree to peace "as soon as possible." It will be the first visit by Zelensky to Washington since a February bust-up with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, when the two men berated the Ukrainian leader for being "ungrateful." UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP | Handout Russia kept up its attacks on Ukraine ahead of the new talks, firing at least 140 drones and four ballistic missiles at the country between late Sunday and early Monday, the Ukrainian air force said. A Russian drone attack on a five-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv just before dawn killed at least seven people, including a one-and-a-half year old girl, authorities said. Zelensky called the strikes an attempt to "humiliate diplomatic efforts." Ukrainian shelling attacks in the Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Donetsk regions meanwhile killed two people, Moscow-installed authorities said. - Territories at stake - Russia currently occupies a fifth of Ukraine. It annexed Crimea in 2014 following a referendum denounced as a sham by Kyiv and the West, and did the same in 2022 in four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia -- even though its forces have not fully captured them. Russia controls Crimea and is largely in control of the Lugansk region, but not the other three regions. Russia has suggested it might "freeze" the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in exchange for getting control of land not already captured in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. A source briefed on a phone call between Trump and European leaders on Saturday told AFP that the US leader was "inclined to support" this proposal. But Zelensky has repeatedly shot down the notion of ceding territory to Moscow, and says he is constitutionally bound not to give away Crimea. Yevgeniy Sosnovsky, a photographer from the captured Ukrainian city of Mariupol, said he "cannot understand" how Ukraine would cede land already under its control. "Ukraine cannot give up any territories, not even those occupied by Russia," he told AFP. AFP | Simon Wohlfahrt Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow had made "some concessions" on territory, and that there was an "important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there." "That discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday," he told CNN, without giving details. Washington has not placed extra sanctions on Moscow, and the lavish welcome offered to Putin in Alaska on his first visit to the West since he invaded Ukraine in 2022 was seen as a diplomatic coup for Russia. But Trump has raised the possibility of a collective defense guarantee for Ukraine similar to the one in place for NATO members, once the war is over. The promise would be outside of the framework of the Western military alliance that Ukraine wants to join and which is seen as an existential threat by Russia. Speaking in Brussels on the eve of his visit to the United States, Zelensky said he was keen to hear more about what Putin and Trump discussed in Alaska.
