A draft deal struck this week with the EU under which Turkey will take back illegal migrants envisages clearing an initial five Greek islands of all refugees, a Turkish official said on Friday.
According to the draft deal, Syrian refugees that will be readmitted by Turkey will stay in the latter country, whereas refugees of other nationalities will be sent back to their own countries, the official reportedly said.
Following the clearing of the initial five Greek islands from all refugees, the next step will cover other Greek islands.
The execution of the project will be wholly financed by European funds.
The official said migrant flows in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece had dropped to 2,000 daily from 6,800 last October.
New Turkish legislation will fulfill most of the European Union criteria required for the granting of visa-free travel for Turks to Europe, the official further said.
