NATO Defence Ministers Agree on NATO support to assist with the Refugee and Migrant Crisis

NATO Defence Ministers agreed on the 11 February 2016 that NATO would provide support to assist with the refugee and migrant crisis. 'The goal is to participate in the international efforts to stem the illegal trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean', Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 was currently deployed in the region and would be tasked to conduct reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings in the Aegean. It would also establish a direct link with the European Union’s border management agency, Frontex.

The development came following calls by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoğlu, plus Greece, in the preceding days for Nato patrols in the Aegean to combat the smuggling of refugees between Turkey and Greece.

• Primary Source

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