Turkish president urges Greece to open border for illegal immigrants

ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday urged Greece to open its border gate for the passage of illegal immigrants, who have been waiting in Turkey's northwestern border for the last 10 days to enter Europe.

"These people will not stay in Greece. They will transit to another European country from there," Erdogan said at a meeting in Istanbul, marking International Women's Day.

He slammed the intervention of Greek security forces against the illegal immigrants at the Pazarkule border crossing.

Turkish authorities claimed that a total of three refugees were shot dead by Greek police so far.

Turkey is currently hosting over 3.7 million Syrian refugees in its territory. Additionally, more than 1.5 million others have flooded its southeastern border with Syria, mostly women and children, fleeing from the civil war in the Syrian province of Idlib.

Erdogan said the issue has not gained proper attention from the world.

"We have signed a cease-fire, albeit temporarily. It is my wish that it stays there," the Turkish leader added, referring to the cease-fire agreement in Idlib reached by the Turkish and Russian delegations in the Russian capital Moscow on Thursday night.