Greek Minister Nikos Kotzias is getting ready to meet with his Albanian and Italian colleagues in order to discuss the Balkan migrant crisis, 'To Vima' reports citing diplomatic sources.
The paper points out that this initiative is too late and that Greece is trying to become active so it can avoid the worst case scenario.
According to 'To Vima', Kotzias, under pressure from the government whose members think that the Interior Ministry has been inert in terms of the Balkan situation, now wants to reach out to Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria in regards to the migrant issue.
This process will probably have two phases. The first will be a trilateral consultation Athens-Tirana-Rome, and the second discussion will be held between Athens, Sofia, Tirana and Skopje. A diplomatic source of the paper informed that Kotzias suggested this plan to the Albanian Foreign Minister during his recent visit to Athens.
Albania and Italy have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen border checks and patrols. With the closing of the Macedonian-Greek border for migrants, there are now concerns that the migrants might try to cross into Albania, and to enter Italy from there.
The meeting between representatives from Greece, Albania and Italy is scheduled for April 7 in Athens. At the meeting, opportunities for broadening the cooperation between the countries will be discussed. Furthermore, it will probably include the exchange of intelligence data and police cooperation proposals.
After the meeting on Thursday, Kotzias will try to reach similar agreements with Macedonia and Bulgaria at meetings which will probably happen soon. If everything goes according to plan, the next step would be in terms of a 'wider reach', 'To Vima' reports.