FM Çavuşoğlu calls on CHP head for ‘presentation’ on disputed Aegean islands
Sevil ERKUŞ - ANKARA
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has proposed “making a presentation” for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on the issue of the status of a number of Aegean islands that are disputed between Turkey and Greece.
“If the CHP leader wants to hear the facts, he should invite me and we’ll explain about the issue of islands with the documents,” Çavuşoğlu told the Hürriyet Daily News on Jan. 18.
His call comes after a debate erupted last month when CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over his failure to raise the issue of “18 occupied islands” during his official visit to Greece.
“Why did not you talk about the 18 occupied islands? Article 12 and Article 18 of the Lausanne Treaty have been clearly violated. There are 13,000 military units and nearly 5,000 Greek troops on the islands,” Kılıçdaroğlu said on Dec. 11, 2017.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım responded to Kılıçdaroğlu at the time by saying the main opposition leader should ask the same question to those who “delivered” the islands to Greece.
