Following what she said was "injury to Turkish citizens by the Greek Coast Guard," the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs today summoned the Acting Embassy of Athens to Ankara and handed him a protest note.

The Turkish Interior Minister, Suleiman Sawilo, earlier held the Greek authorities responsible for the deaths of immigrants near the Turkey-Greece border.

Ankara regularly accuses the Greek authorities of removing illegal immigrants to Turkey while attempting to cross into Greece, which Athens always denies.

For its part, Greece also accuses Turkey of turning a blind eye to persons attempting to cross into Greece in violation of an agreement concluded in March 2016 which provides that Turkey shall make active efforts to limit the movement of migration from its territory.