Foreign ministers of Turkey, Greece quarrel at press conference

Photo: AA

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has met with his counterpart from Greece, Nikos Dendies, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

The two ministers exchanged accusations at a 35-minute joint press conference after what was the first meeting in over a year.

At the start of the conference, Çavuşoğlu praised the "positive dialogue" and said, "It is in our interests that minorities in both countries live in peace, it will have a positive impact on our relations."

However, the conference turned tense after Dendias said Turkey would face sanctions if Turkey continued violating its sovereignty, apparently referring to the maritime border and airspace disputes between the countries over the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea.

In response, Çavuşoğlu said, "We wanted this first meeting to continue in a more positive atmosphere, but in his remarks, Nikos Dendias, unfortunately, made extremely unacceptable accusations against my country."

He said the claim that Turkey violated Greece's sovereignty rights was unacceptable, adding: "Turkey is capable of protecting its rights, especially in Eastern Mediterranean, and the rights of Turkish Cypriots."

On the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey accepts the Greek Orthodox minority as they are, but Greece tells the Turkish minority that they are not Turks but Muslims.

"This is neither human nor in compliance with international law," he said, adding: "If they say they are Turkish, they are Turkish. You have to accept it."

Dendias responded to this criticism by citing the Lausanne Treaty, where the minority in the Western Trace is defined as the "Muslim minority." (EKN/VK)