Türkiye calls for 'fair burden sharing' after refugee boat sinks off Greece

Türkiye has called for "fair responsibility and burden sharing" after a refugee boat that was reportedly carrying up to 750 refugee and migrants sank off southwestern Greece earlier this week, leaving at least 78 people dead and hundreds missing.

"We are saddened by the far too many loss of lives, including children and women, during sinking incident of a fishing boat off the shore of Greece on 14 June," a Foreign Ministry statement said on Friday, extending Ankara's condolences.

"This tragedy in the Mediterranean would neither be the first nor the last. It is not possible to prevent such tragedies without eliminating the root causes of irregular migration. Any counter solution to this approach would only exacerbate the suffering of migrants and refugees, as well as increase death tolls at sea," the statement added.

It said that it is a shared responsibility to enhance the living conditions of migrants and refugees, adding: "This tragic incident has once again demonstrated the obligation of the international community to urgently find solutions to this matter."

Türkiye hosts the largest refugee population in the world with some 3.9 million refugees, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

"As we approach June 20, World Refugee Day, we once again call on the international community to fair responsibility and burden sharing, as well as encourage to collaborate to eliminate the root causes of migratory movements in our region," the ministry said.

Survivors say Greek coastguard 'directly involved'

According to a European Union lawmaker, survivors have said the Greek Coast Guard was "directly involved and might have caused" the deadly shipwreck.

"Greek authorities knew that a ship carrying asylum seekers is in danger in their waters, but didn't start the rescue for hours," Erik Marquardt, a German Member of the European Parliament from the Green Group, told Anadolu news agency.

"Some survivors even indicate that the Greek Coast Guard was directly involved and might have caused the shipwreck," he added.

United Nations' agency for refugees and migrants called in a joint statement for "urgent and decisive action to prevent further deaths at sea following the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean, the worst in several years."

They insisted states had an obligation to come together to address the dangerous gaps in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, pointing out that "the duty to rescue people in distress at sea without delay is a fundamental rule of international maritime law".

The UN rights office meanwhile called for "thorough" investigations into the "horrific tragedy".

Federico Soda, head of the International Organization for Migration's emergency department, said the tragedy once again showed the approach to refugees and migrant crossings in the Mediterranean needed to change.

"Year after year, it continues to be the most dangerous migration route in the world, with the highest fatality rate," he said in the statement, urging change.

UNHCR deputy chief Gillian Triggs also stressed the European Union's obligation to "put safety and solidarity at the heart of its action in the Mediterranean".

"In view of the increased movements of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean, collective efforts, including greater coordination between all Mediterranean States, solidarity and responsibility sharing ... are essential to save lives," she said in the statement.