INTERVIEW WITH BESIR ATALAY, TURKEY'S INTERIOR MINISTER : 'GREEK FENCE PROJECT NOT A PROBLEM FOR US'.

• Position: Interview

On the sidelines of a meeting of the EU's home affairs ministers in Godollo (Hungary), the Greek and Turkish ministers met privately. Interviewed by Europolitics social in mid-January, Turkish Minister Besir Atalay confirmed that his country is not opposed to the Greek project to build a fence to prevent illegal immigration along its border with Turkey.

Isn't this Greek project to erect a fence along the Turkish border an ambiguous message as Ankara negotiates its EU membership?

Greece is building a fence, not a wall, on its territory. That's not a problem for us. It concerns Greek territory, a very limited and narrow zone. The Greeks explained to us that this is an initiative to combat illegal immigration through Turkey and that it is not aimed against Turkey or Turkish citizens. We are also taking measures to combat illegal immigration on our side.

So building this fence is a solution?

Today we discussed our common problem, which is illegal immigration. We also spoke about common measures to stem illegal immigration from Africa. The Greek home affairs minister will be coming to Turkey soon and we will discuss the matter again.

You are also negotiating an agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants with the European Commission. How are those talks advancing?

We are about to...