Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said Türkiye’s every step on security also contributes to Europe’s security, as he attended a trilateral meeting with Bulgarian and Greek officials in Athens on Wednesday.

"Trilateral Mechanism Meeting” was hosted by Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris and attended by Bulgarian Interior Minister Emil Dechev. It focused on cooperation between the neighboring countries in the fight against terrorism, organized crime and irregular migration.

Speaking after the meeting, Çiftçi said Turkish authorities’ efforts to combat crime within the framework of international law and humanitarian values had produced results. He noted that Türkiye’s deterrence capacity in combating irregular migration had largely ended its status as a transit and destination country for migrants. He attributed this outcome in part to the strategic contribution of the trilateral mechanism. Çiftçi underlined that migrant smuggling is also a key source of revenue for terrorist groups and criminal gangs, and said the fight against irregular migration should run in parallel with efforts against terrorism and organized crime, within a complementary strategy.

For his part, Minister Plevris said Greece’s strict policy against illegal migration aimed to curb flows along its land and sea borders. He praised trilateral cooperation and said Greece had achieved a substantial reduction in the number of irregular migrants. He underlined that countries should further intensify the fight against smuggling networks and traffickers on sea routes.

Bulgaria’s Dechev highlighted the strategic nature of the trilateral ministerial format, calling it a well-established and valuable platform for effective and results-oriented cooperation. He said Bulgaria firmly believed in the added value of the trilateral dialogue and remained a committed supporter of its continuity and sustainability.

He emphasized that Bulgaria, Greece and Türkiye should remain ambitious and continue building on progress achieved so far, particularly in border security, combating irregular migration and migrant smuggling networks, which remain central to joint efforts in an increasingly complex regional and international security environment.