Any attack by Greece against Türkiye means 'losing its senses': Minister

ANKARA

Any possible attack from Greece against Türkiye means that Athens is “losing its senses,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Nov. 2.

Elaborating on recent armament attempts of Greece, Çavuşoğlu called on Athens not to be confident in other countries regarding its security. “Don’t look at who’s behind you, look who’s in front of you,” he said addressing the panel titled “Turkish Foreign Policy in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.”

He cited the bilateral mechanism revived by Athens and Ankara at the beginning of 2021 and said the two neighbors focused on developing a positive agenda, but Greece “failed to show the necessary sincerity.”

Stating that the way of dialogue with Athens is open, Çavuşoğlu said, “We did not say that we would not meet with Greece, but the meeting should be meaningful.”

The Greek “aggression” is due to Türkiye’s “rising profile” in the international arena and its domestic political concerns, said the minister. “Greece’s lack of strategic vision” is another factor in this dispute, he added.

Elaborating on the military bases established by the United States in Greece, the minister said Washington argues that these facilities aim defense against Russia, but Ankara was not convinced by this explanation.

“They say they are against Russia, but it is not convincing. The balance of the U.S. is broker,” Çavuşoğlu said.

Ankara asked Washington the reason why the U.S. lifted the arms embargo on Greek Cyprus, the response was that the Greek Cypriots’ cooperation with them on the issue of money laundering, Çavuşolu said.

Evaluating the normalization process between Türkiye and Egypt, Çavuşoğlu said, “ We entered the normalization process with Egypt, this is a dual process. If Egypt is sincere about normalizing relations, it will take steps. Normalization is going slowly, but it’s not about us.”