Lesvos the 'tireless guardian' of both the Greek and EU borders, President Pavlopoulos notes

Among the officers present were the crew of coast guard vessels involved in the rescue of literally thousands of refugees and migrants endangered in their attempt to make the crossing to Lesvos from Turkey.

The president had earlier attended a parade held in the island's main town of Mytilene to mark the 103rd anniversary since the island's liberation from Ottoman rule.

In statements after the parade, Pavlopoulos noted that Lesvos, at this extremely critical time for the country, was proving the "sleepless and tireless guardian of the borders of Greece and the European Union, but primarily the ideal, to the point of self-sacrifice, expressor of peace and defence of humanity."

He then attended a ceremony at the University of the Aegean, where he was presented with a medal by the university's rector Stefanos Gritzalis and, quoting a line from Aeschylus' 'Agamemnon', expressed hope that "we will soon stop 'seeing the Aegean flowering with corpses'".

Referring to the patrolling of the Greek border, he said that Greece's actions were primarily focused on protecting people.

"We protect with sovereignty the Greek border and simultaneously the European border. But at the same time we protect people. That is what we teach," he said, while urging "certain EU officials" not to expose themselves with their statements on issues of international law.

On Sunday afternoon, the president is expected to visit the Archangel Michael Monastery on the island and then go to Skala Sykamnias, the stretch of the Lesvos coastline where the majority of refugees alight after the crossing, in order to talk to local residents.