Defense minister accuses Greece of ‘hypocrisy’

ANKARA

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has accused Greece of conducting a “hypocritical policy” and continuing provocations, although Türkiye has been aiming for dialogue to settle the bilateral problems.

Speaking to reporters following the National Day reception of Malaysia on Sept. 12, Akar emphasized that Türkiye makes great efforts and acts patiently to resolve the problems with its neighbor Greece through peaceful means and methods.

“Despite all our well-intentioned efforts, our neighbor Greece continues to increase the tension with some provocative actions and rhetoric every time. We do our best to prevent this. We are putting our best effort into it,” he said.

Athens does “its best to exploit and distort every event, to influence third parties with lies and slander, and to complain about Türkiye to third parties. In this sense, it is not wrong to say that a really hypocritical policy is being followed. There is a hypocritical policy,” Akar stated.

On the one hand, Ankara insists on dialogue, and Athens seems to respond to it, on the other hand, it makes it a “habit to complain about Türkiye, based on lies and denial, every time they talk to third countries,” the minister said.

Akar stated that the Greek coast guards had recently fired at a civilian ship in the Aegean and said, “Right after this, the politicians in Greece accuse Türkiye of aggression. What is this if not hypocrisy?”

Türkiye says Greece is stationing troops on islands in the Aegean Sea in violation of peace treaties signed after World Wars I and II.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said the Greek warplanes scrambled to harass the Turkish F-16s on Aug. 22 and 24 by locking their radars on to them. The incidents took place while the Turkish jets were escorting the American warplanes and other allied airplanes on these dates, the ministry cited.

On Aug. 23, the Crete-based S-300 air defense system of Greece locked on to the Turkish F-16s, the ministry announced, calling the move “hostile” and inconsistent with the spirit of the NATO alliance.