Türkiye dismisses EU’s criticism of Erdoğan’s Greece remarks

ANKARA

The statements made by the Czech Foreign Ministry and some other EU institutions regarding Türkiye in the capacity of the EU Term President on the issue of Greece have “no meaning and value” for Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said.

“The EU’s unquestioning support of Greece in the Aegean and Mediterranean conflicts on the grounds of membership solidarity is against both the EU’s own acquis and international law,” he said in a written statement on Sept. 6.

“This attitude, which pampers Greece, encourages non-solution, not solution, and supports Greece’s pursuit of maximalist demands,” he added.

It is a “complete disgrace” that those who made these statements ignore Greece’s “violations, harassment and threats” against Türkiye, its “provocative actions and rhetoric, and remain indifferent to its actions and practices against international law,” Bilgiç noted.

If the Czech Presidency or the EU want to promote dialogue, the Türkiye-EU relations should essentially be spared the “abuse of the narrow-minded” Greek/Cypriot veto, which undermines EU solidarity and common interests, the spokesperson said.

Türkiye will continue to resolutely protect its legitimate rights and interests in the Aegean and Mediterranean, Bilgiç noted.

The EU has voiced concern over what it called “hostile remarks” after President Tayyip Erdoğan accused Greece of occupying demilitarized islands in the Aegean and said Türkiye was ready to “do what is necessary” when the time came.

These remarks “raise serious concerns and fully contradict much needed de-escalation efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Peter Stano, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said in a statement late on Sept. 5.

In a message on Twitter Sept. 3, the Czech Foreign Ministry said One of the Czech presidency goals is to foster the EU-Türkiye dialogue. “Unacceptable threatening of EU member states, like the one addressed to Greece in President Erdoğan’s recent public speech, is extremely unhelpful in this regard,” it added.

Türkiye calls on Greece to respect Turkish minority’s rights

Meanwhile, Türkiye called on Greece to respect the rights of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace to elect their own religious leaders.

Greece took action against the Turkish minority’s rights to elect their mufti and targeted minority members, the Foreign Ministry tweeted on Sept. 5

“We expect Greece to respect the right of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority to elect their own religious leaders, which is guaranteed by international agreements, especially the Lausanne Peace Treaty, and to end its pressures in this context,” it said.