Allegations from Turkey raise eyebrows
Athens is reportedly intensely concerned about what it says is a barrage of false news emanating from Turkey in recent days.
Although Athens is not ruling out the possibility that this barrage of misinformation is mainly the result of the Turkish government’s efforts to divert attention from its response to the catastrophic fires in large parts of the neighboring country, it remains, nonetheless, concerned.
Picking up from where it started at the weekend, Ankara on Monday lashed out against Greece over the closure of 12 minority primary schools in the northeastern province of Thrace in what it said was a violation of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 regarding Greece’s Muslim minority.
Athens responded that the 12 primary schools were closed due to the small number of students (less than five in all), and that all were transferred to units located nearby (at a distance of 1 kilometer).
This followed Turkish claims on Saturday that a Turkish citizen was killed on the Turkish side of the border of the Evros River by shots fired from the Greek bank of the river.
Subsequently, Eleni Vakali, the charge d’affaires at the Embassy of Greece in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry early Sunday morning and was given a diplomatic note of protest. Initially, the Greek Foreign Ministry and Hellenic Police categorically denied the Turkish allegation. Following instructions from Athens, Vakali for her part called on Turkish authorities to guard the border more effectively.
In addition, there were also leaks from Turkey about the alleged refusal of Greece to provide means to fight the fires that have ravaged Turkey in recent days within the framework of the relevant European Union mechanism. And these allegations were made despite the fact that sources said Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias had promised his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu that Greece would provide these means.
