Turkey will no longer allow migrants to cross the Aegean sea to Greece because it is unsafe, the coastguard has said.
The order from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes a week after he said he was “opening the doors” for refugees to enter Europe, amid tensions over the Syrian conflict.
The EU accuses him of using migrants for political purposes. It insists its doors are “closed”.
Meanwhile, clashes have again erupted at the land border.
There appears to have been no change in Turkey's position with regard to letting migrants try to enter Greece via this route.
On Saturday, Greek police fired tear gas at crowds at the border crossing at Kastanies, who responded by throwing stones and shouting “open the gates”, according to the AFP news agency.
The Greek authorities also accused Turkish police of firing tear gas at its police.
What's the background?
In 2016, a deal was reached whereby Turkey would stop allowing migrants to reach the EU in return for funds from the bloc to help it manage the huge numbers of refugees it hosts.
But since then, tensions between the EU and Turkey have flared on various issues. In recent weeks, a fierce onslaught by Syrian forces and their Russian backers on Idlib, the last province held by Syrian rebels, has led to clashes with Turkey, which supports some…
