ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek lawmakers voted on Friday to temporarily stop processing asylum requests from migrants arriving from North Africa by sea in a bid to reduce arrivals into Europe's southernmost tip, a move rights groups and opposition parties have called illegal.

Greek lawmakers were set to vote on legislation on Thursday that would temporarily halt the processing of asylum applications of people coming from North Africa for at least three months, a move rights groups have called illegal.

He added that Greece was "sending a message of determination... to all traffickers and all their potential customers that the money they spend may be completely wasted, because it will be difficult to reach Greece by sea.