Gov. of Central Macedonia Region initially refused entry into Turkey; subsequently declines to enter for official visit

The regional governor of the Central Macedonia region, an elected office holder, declined continuing an official visit to Turkey on Saturday after he was initially refused entry at a border post in the western port city of Izmir.

According to reports, Apostolos Tzitzikostas was refused entry as a persona non grata by customs officials, ostensibly because his name resembled one on a list of undesirable third country nationals used by Turkish authorities, as Turkey’s state-run agency claimed.

The refusal of entry was attributed to a mere “technical issue”.

Tzitzikostas had arrived in Izmir – ancient Smyrna – at roughly 11.30 a.m. on Saturday in order to attend the Euro-Mediterranean committee of the EU Commission’s Committee of Regions, in which he holds the first vice-president position. He was held for six hours at the customs entry post.

When he was finally allowed to enter, he refused and returned to Greece.

In a later statement, Greece ministry of foreign affairs condemned what it called the “unlawful detainment” and refusal of entry for the northern Greece office holder an EU committee representative. Athens also called for immediate clarifications by the Turkish side.