The Turkish authorities also criticize the Greeks for arm of the Aegean Sea islands, in violation, according to them, of two treaties.
Le Monde with AFP
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced on Wednesday 1 er June, that he would no longer meet the Greek leaders whom he accuses of not “being honest”. “We will no longer have bilateral meetings with them,” said the Turkish Head of State during a speech in front of his parliamentary group in Ankara, while the leaders of the two countries multiply the mutual accusations.
“You know that we had a high strategic advice with Greece. I warned our Minister of Foreign Affairs yesterday, we broke this agreement,” he added. Sealled in 2010, the agreement between Turkey and Greece provided for regular regular meetings to develop cooperation between the two countries.
Without ever appointing him, Mr. Erdogan criticizes Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “He goes to the United States, he made remarks against us before the Congress. We are fed up now. If you are honest, we are honest, we are honest, we are honest, we are honest, we are honest, we is ready to welcome you, but if you are not, sorry, “insisted the Turkish head of state.
Turkey has intensified its criticisms against Greece since the intervention of Mr. Mitsotakis before the mid-May Congress. The Greek Prime Minister had criticized Turkey without openly mentioning it. The Turkish pro-government media interpreted this speech as a call to Washington to provide the F-16 combat aircraft requested by Turkey.
Armament of the Aegean Sea
The Turkish authorities also criticize the Greeks for arm of the Aegean Sea, in violation, according to them, of two treaties. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, repeated Tuesday that Ankara would call into question the sovereignty of Greece to these islands if she continued to send troops. “Greece has violated the status of these islands and must disarm them. Otherwise, a debate on their sovereignty will begin,” he told the official agency Anatolia.
In return, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who chairs the European Union until July provided his support to Athens, condemning any questioning of the Greek “sovereignty”.
Wednesday, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, also called on Turkey to show restraint with regard to Greece. “Given the current situation, it is necessary that all the NATO allies make front and abstain from any provocation between them,” said his spokesperson at a press conference in Berlin.
“Invaden the Greek airspace and fly over the Greek islands is not acceptable, this seems counterproductive and contrary to the spirit of the Alliance”, he added.