Border police on the island of Gavdos rescued 70 migrants from a sinking boat, BNR reported.
Athens insists on common European principles for protecting national security.
The migrants set off from the Turkish coast towards the island of Gavdos. Upon entering Greek waters, they reported that the boat was sinking, with 70 people on board, including mothers and children.
The Coast Guard, together with a boat from the European border agency Frontex, successfully rescued all the migrants.
Due to a lack of accommodation, the migrants were transferred to the island of Crete, authorities said.
In response to the increased migrant pressure on Greece, Migration Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos today made a statement that all migrants who have not been granted refugee status must be returned. Finding them is the job of the police, the minister specified. This also applies to all those who entered Greece, applied for asylum and continued illegally to other European countries.
According to Minister Panagiotopoulos, the treatment of migrants has not only a humanitarian purpose, but is already an important factor for national security.
Greece insists on the urgent introduction of common European measures regarding illegal migrants, which should be strictly observed by all European countries.