NATO Mission Moving into Greek, Turkish Waters

NATO sent its ships into Greek and Turkish waters in the Aegean Sea on Monday to counter the criminal networks smuggling migrants into Europe, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, overcoming territorial sensitivities in Greece and Turkey.

"NATO is starting activities in territorial waters today," Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels, flanked by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

"We are expanding our cooperation with the EU's border agency Frontex and we are expanding the number of ships in our deployment," he said, saying that France and Britain had agreed to send ships to the Aegean.

Germany is leading the NATO mission that was agreed on Feb. 11, which also includes ships from Canada, Turkey and Greece. Until now, ships had been in international waters.


(Reporting by Robin Emmott and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)