92 Migrants Found on Greek-Turkish Border

File Photo: Migrants arrive with a dinghy at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. (AP)
File Photo: Migrants arrive with a dinghy at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. (AP)
TT
20

92 Migrants Found on Greek-Turkish Border

File Photo: Migrants arrive with a dinghy at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. (AP)
File Photo: Migrants arrive with a dinghy at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. (AP)

Ninety-two migrants were found almost naked and bruised after allegedly being forced across the Evros river from Türkiye into Greece, Athens said Sunday, a charge fiercely denied by Ankara.

EU border agency Frontex confirmed to AFP the arrival of the group in circumstances which the Greek ministry for civil protection said sent out an "inhuman image."

"The Frontex officers reported that the migrants were found almost naked and some of them with visible injuries," said Paulina Bakula, spokeswoman for the organization.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said in a tweet that it was "deeply distressed by the shocking reports and images of 92 people, who were reported to have been found at the Greek-Turkish land border, stripped of their clothes".

Bakula, speaking from Frontex's Warsaw HQ, said Frontex officers worked with Greek authorities to provide the migrants -- mainly Afghans and Syrians -- with immediate assistance.

She added the organization had informed the agency's fundamental rights officer of a potential rights violation.

Greek minister for civil protection Takis Theodorikakos accused Türkiye of "instrumentalizing illegal immigration" in the latest of a series of recriminations on migration between the neighbors.

Speaking on Skai television, Theodorikakos said many of the migrants told Frontex that "three Turkish army vehicles had transferred them" to the river which acts as a natural border.

In a series of scathing comments on Twitter, the Turkish presidency denied any responsibility for the migrants and blamed Greece for the "inhuman" situation.

"We urge Greece to abandon its harsh treatment of refugees as soon as possible, to cease its baseless and false charges against Türkiye," wrote President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's top press aide Fahrettin Altun.

"With these futile and ridiculous efforts, Greece has shown once again to the entire world that it does not respect the dignity of refugees by posting these oppressed people's pictures it has deported after extorting their personal possessions," he added in tweets delivered in Turkish, Greek and English.

Türkiye's Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli called on Greece to stop what in a tweet he termed its "manipulations and dishonesty."

Greek minister for migration and asylum, Notis Mitarachi, had Saturday described the incident as a "shame on civilization."

Athens regularly faces and denies accusations from NGOs and the media that it has on many occasions sought to push migrants back to Türkiye illegally, sometimes using force.

Last month, Erdogan used a UN address to accuse Greece of transforming the Aegean Sea into a "cemetery" with "oppressive policies" on immigration.

Berlin-based rights group Mare Liberum tweeted: "In the Evros region, systematic human rights crimes against people on the move are committed on a daily basis by Türkiye as well as Greece".

"When these crimes are publicly discussed by members of the government, it only serves to add fuel to the fire of the long conflict between Türkiye and Greece, not to protect people on the move," the group added.



Trump Speaks with Xi amid Stalled Talks between the US, China over Tariffs

President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
TT
20

Trump Speaks with Xi amid Stalled Talks between the US, China over Tariffs

President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global trade.

The conversation was confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry, which said Trump initiated the call, The AP news reported.

Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi.

“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted Wednesday on his social media site.

Trade negotiations between the United States and China stalled shortly after a May 12 agreement between the two countries to reduce their tariff rates while talks played out. Behind the gridlock has been the continued competition for an economic edge.

The US accuses China of not exporting critical minerals, and the Chinese government objects to America restricting its sale of advanced chips and its access to student visas for college and graduate students.

Trump has lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks. China also reduced its taxes on US goods from 125% to 10%. The back and forth has caused sharp swings in global markets and threatens to hamper trade between the two countries.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had suggested that only a conversation between Trump and Xi could resolve these differences so that talks could restart in earnest. The underlying tension between the two countries may still persist, though.

Even if negotiations resume, Trump wants to lessen America’s reliance on Chinese factories and reindustrialize the US, whereas China wants the ability to continue its push into technologies such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence that could be crucial to securing its economic future.

The United States ran a trade imbalance of $295 billion with China in 2024, according to the Census Bureau. While the Chinese government’s focus on manufacturing has turned it into a major economic and geopolitical power, China has been muddling through a slowing economy after a real estate crisis and coronavirus pandemic lockdowns weakened consumer spending.

Trump and Xi had last spoken in January, three days before Inauguration Day. The pair discussed trade then, as well as Trump’s demands that China do more to prevent the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the United States.

Trump had long expressed optimism about the prospects for a major deal, before his post suggesting Xi was making that difficult. Last week, Trump went further, posting, “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump posted. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”