Erdogan meets Orban, criticises Greek PM's comment

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday rejected suggestions by Greece that Turkey was responsible for a migration dispute between the two regional rivals.

"To say that the migrant crisis originates from the Turkish side is ingratitude," Erdogan said, during a joint news conference with visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Athens claimed this week the Turkish coast guard escorted a boat of migrants who were trying to illegally reach Greece.

Thousands of people fleeing conflict or poverty in the Mideast, Africa and Asia try to enter Greece every year from Turkey.

Under a 2016 agreement with the European Union, of which Greece is a member, Turkey vowed to stem the flow of migrants.

But Greece has repeatedly accused Turkey - which has its own large migrant population - of encouraging and facilitating the attempted crossings.

IMAGE: AP