Turkey may cancel Greece migration deal in extradition rowJanuary 28, 2017 - 12:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey demanded on Friday, January 27 that Greece reconsider a decision not to extradite eight soldiers who fled to Greece after a failed coup last year, and threatened measures including scrapping a migration deal with Athens, Reuters reports. Greece's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against extraditing the soldiers, who have sought political asylum, saying they feared for their lives in Turkey. Ankara says they were involved in the July 15 coup attempt and branded them traitors. "We demanded that the eight soldiers be tried again. This is a political decision, Greece is protecting and hosting coup plotters," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told state broadcaster TRT Haber. "We are evaluating what we can do. There is a migration deal we signed, including a readmission deal with Greece, and we are evaluating what we can do, including the cancellation of the readmission deal with Greece," Cavusoglu added. A European Union spokeswoman said it was confident its cooperation with Turkey on migration, aimed at stemming the flow of refugees into Europe, will hold firm. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' office responded to Turkey's comments on Thursday and Friday that coup plotters were not welcome in Greece but the country's justice system was independent and court rulings were respected. "The Greek government has vehemently condemned ... the coup attempt and supported the democratically elected government in our neighboring country," it said. But it added that "within Greece, the sole authority for relevant decisions is the independent Greek justice system, whose verdicts are obviously binding." Relations between Greece and Turkey, neighbors and NATO allies, have improved over the years but they remain at odds over territorial disputes and ethnically split Cyprus. In 1996, they almost reached the brink of war over an uninhabited islet. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |