Greece shipped over 200 migrants back to Turkey on Monday, the first wave of deportations under a hugely controversial deal aimed at easing Europe's worst postwar migration crisis.

Some 200 migrants -- mainly from Pakistan and Bangladesh -- sailed on three chartered Turkish ferries from the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios back across the Aegean Sea, retracing the perilous journey they took on unseaworthy boats in their quest to reach Europe.

Turkey has prepared to take in up to 500 migrants from Greece on Monday under a plan agreed with the EU to reduce the flow of illegal migration, the Turkish interior minister said.

Turkish media reports have said the first wave of migrants sent back by Greece are set to arrive in the Turkish resort town of Dikili which lies just opposite the Greek island of Lesbos, a major hub for migration to the EU.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz said Sunday the EU must make no concessions to Turkey over human rights but voiced confidence in a deal with Ankara to manage the refugee crisis.

Under the controversial agreement, Turkey is due to take back illegal migrants from EU member Greece from Monday, when it will also start an orderly resettlement program of Syrian asylum-seekers to the 28-member bloc.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he took offense at U.S. President Barack Obama slamming eroding press freedoms in Turkey, expressing sadness that the comments were made behind his back.

"I am saddened that these kinds of comments have been made in my absence," Erdogan told Turkish reporters in Washington as he rounded off a trip to the United States. "These issues did not come onto the agenda in our talks with Mr. Obama."

Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces rumbled on Sunday, despite Baku announcing a ceasefire after the worst outbreak of violence in decades over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region sparked international pressure to stop fighting. 

Azerbaijan said it had decided to "unilaterally cease hostilities" and pledged to "reinforce" several strategic positions it claimed to have captured inside the Armenian-controlled territory.

Beneath a majestic Ottoman dome, waving Turkish flags outside their brand new mosque, a group of U.S. Muslims -- the faithful and the curious -- jostled Saturday to welcome a president.

Hailing the beauty of its location near the capital Washington, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially inaugurated the Diyanet Center of America.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday made a rare visit to the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir, declaring he was "not scared" after an attack blamed on rebels that killed seven police.

Seven Turkish police officers were killed and at least 27 people wounded on Thursday in a bomb attack on their vehicle in the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned should show the world the "true face" of terror in the country.

The attack blamed on Kurdish militants took place on the eve of a rare visit by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose government has waged a relentless campaign against Kurdish rebels since last summer, to central Diyarbakir on Friday. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday chastised foreign diplomats for attending a trial in Istanbul of two journalists facing possible life terms on controversial espionage charges.

"Who are you? What are you doing there?" Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul, accusing foreign envoys of making a "show of strength."

The Turkish villagers had grown used to hearing the smugglers arrive in the dead of night, speeding through the narrow streets in minibuses packed with Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans headed for the rocky coves nearby.

"Before the EU agreement there were hundreds of refugees crossing the sea here," said 50-year-old fisherman Hasan Balci as he played cards in a cafe.