Greek and EU authorities were putting the final touches to an operation that could send hundreds of migrants back to Turkey on Monday, launching a landmark deal that has been slammed by rights watchdogs.
The operation is set to begin on the Greek island of Lesbos where there are over 3,300 migrants, a term that also includes refugees.
But details of how the operation will proceed — and who and how many migrants will be transferred — are sketchy and Greek officials on Sunday were tight-lipped.
Turkish interior minister Efkan Ala said his country had made preparations to receive 500 people on Monday, and that the Greeks had given the names of 400 people to send there.
“We have been in touch with the Greek authorities and said we could take 500 people and they have given us 400 names. Tomorrow it’s possible that this figure could change,” Mr Ala was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.
The mobilisation could involve other Aegean islands with major refugee and migrant populations such as Chios, where agents of EU border agency Frontex were seen arriving on Sunday, an AFP reporter said.
Greek state news agency ANA, in a report that has not been denied by the government, has said the first wave could entail some 750 migrants, who would be sent back between Monday and Wednesday.
They would be sent from Lesbos to the Turkish port of Dikili, adding that Frontex had chartered two Turkish leisure vessels for the operation, it said.
