Over 148,000 asylum seekers enter Greece

Turkey on Wednesday announced that nearly 149,000 asylum seekers had crossed its northwestern border to enter Greece since Feb. 28.

Speaking at a televised interview, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said: "148,763 people have crossed the [Greek] border since Feb. 28."

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Thousands of asylum seekers had camped at Turkey's border with Greece after Ankara declared in late February that it would no longer stop them from going to Europe, accusing the EU of not keep its part of a 2016 refugee deal.