Turkish and Greek authorities are exchanging accusations after the bodies of 12 migrants who froze to death were found on the Turkish side of the border between the two countries.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Wednesday accused Greek border guards of pushing the migrants back over the frontier. On the same day, Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi dismissed Soylu's remarks as "false propaganda," saying Turkey needed to do more to prevent migrants from setting off from there.

Soylu tweeted that the 12 were among 22 migrants who were pushed back into Turkey by Greek border guards. He said they were found near the Ipsala border crossing between Turkey and Greece "without shoes and stripped of their clothes."

But Mitarachi said that "these migrants never made it to the border." "Any suggestion that they did, or indeed were pushed back into Turkey, is utter nonsense."

"The statements of the Turkish leadership regarding the tragic incident in which people lost their lives in Turkey, while trying to cross the European borders, were unacceptable. It is Turkey's responsibility to prevent illegal departures," Mitarachi said in a statement.

Soylu didn't provide further details, but shared blurred photographs of eight of the recovered bodies, including three in shorts and T-shirts.

Soylu accused Greek border units of acting as "thugs" toward migrants while showing sympathy toward members of a network – which Turkey says is behind a 2016 failed military coup – who have escaped to Greece.

He also accused the European Union (EU) of being "helpless, weak and inhumane."

Turkey frequently accuses neighboring Greece of illegally pushing back migrants wanting to make their way into Europe. Greece has long denied Turkish claims that its forces push migrants back into Turkey, or sink migrant boats at sea.

Turkey, which hosts about 3.7 million Syrian refugees, is a major crossing point for migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa seeking a better life in EU countries.

Most try to cross into Greece by either going through the northeastern land border or cramming into smuggling boats headed for the eastern Aegean Sea islands.

(With input from agencies)