Turkey's deputy foreign minister Tuesday denounced Greece's mistreatment of irregular migrants, calling it both "inhumane" and "a breach of international law."

"Once again, we condemn Greece's inhumane pushing back to our border and the persecution of desperate immigrants," Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran said on Twitter, citing the news story from Monday, "Turkey rescues 54 asylum-seekers in the Aegean Sea who were illegally pushed back by Greece."

This mistreatment by Greece is "far from humanitarian values" and violates its international responsibilities, including the 1951 Geneva Convention and the Human Rights Convention, Kıran added.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum-seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum-seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.