NATO warships to patrol Aegean in mission to stop people smugglers

NATO is sending three warships to the sea between Turkey and Greece to crack down on those smuggling desperate people into Europe. Pentagon chief Ashton Carter made the announcement after a meeting of defence ministers at the group’s headquarters in Brussels. He said: “NATO and all the parties at the table this morning indicated a willingness for NATO to support and be a part of that operation.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference that three warships were being sent to the area “without delay” to “start maritime surveillance activities”.

This is not about stopping and pushing back (refugees)…but about critical surveillance to help counter human trafficking and criminal networks.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

German government sources say that Germany, Greece and Turkey asked NATO to start monitoring the Aegean Sea to give a “clear view” of how people smugglers are working on the Turkish coast. Turkey is the main transit country for the more than one million migrants and refugees who arrived in Europe in 2015 - Europe’s worst migrant crisis since World War Two. Once they reach Greece, many of those people travelled through to Germany, France and Scandinavia. But to get to Greece, they have to cross the Aegean Sea. This year so far, more than 70,000 people have undertaken this crossing, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

There is now a criminal syndicate which is exploiting these poor people.

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter

NATO Aegean