Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Friday that Turkey will take necessary measures against Greece following the court's failure to extradite Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) soldiers involved in the July 15 failed coup attempt, to Turkey.
Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey may consider cancelling the readmission deal with Greece, which allows the latter to return illegal migrants -who traveled through Turkey- to Turkey, in order to be processed before they are sent back to their country of origin, TRT Haber reported.
He highlighted that the Greek court's ruling is a political rather than a legal decision, noting that it will have unavoidable implications for bilateral relations.
"They're not just petty criminals" Çavuşoğlu said, adding that the soldiers attempted to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The foreign minister continued by saying that Turkey cannot have a positive view about a country which supports terrorists and coup supporters, and will take concrete action to express its reaction.
Illegal migrant arrivals on Greek islands has dropped significantly since the agreement came into effect, with the numbers dropping to around 20 people per day from 7,000 in 2015.
On Thursday, the foreign ministry protested the Greek Supreme Court decision not to extradite eight former military personnel who escaped to Greece following the failed coup attempt on July 15, accusing Greece of 'protecting coup plotters.'
After the July 15 coup attempt, eight soldiers, including two commanders, four captains and two sergeants, had escaped to Greece on a Sikorsky helicopter and landed in Alexandroupolis. Following their landing, the eight suspected FETÖ members asked for asylum from Greek authorities. Before their asylum request was taken to the court, a Greek court sentenced the eight men to a suspended two-month jail sentence for illegal entry into Greece. Ankara has formally requested from Greece the extradition of the FETÖ members who were allegedly behind the coup attempt.
