Seaborne arrivals of migrants in Europe from the north of Africa, including war-torn Sudan, and the Middle East in recent months.

Greece said on Monday it would deploy two frigates and one more vessel off Libya's territorial waters to deter migrants from reaching its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos.

"I will inform my colleagues about the significant increase in the number of people from eastern Libya and ask for the support of the European Commission so that the issue can be addressed immediately," Mitsotakis said ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels that began this Thursday.

Mitsotakis said authorities in Libya should co-operate with Greece to stop migrants sailing from there or turn them back before they exit Libyan territorial waters.

He added that the EU's Migration Commissioner and Ministers from Italy, Greece and Malta would travel to Libya early in July to discuss the issue.

Law and order has been weak in Libya since a 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with the country divided by factional conflict into eastern and western sections for over a decade.

--Reuters--