Greece says ‘no provision’ in Lausanne treaty for election of mufti

Greece told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday that there is no provision in the Treaty of Lausanne, a 1923 peace accord which, among other things, forged modern Greece and Turkey’s borders, stating that the muftis of the Muslim minority in the country are elected.

“The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs is always prepared to send to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs the text of the Treaty of Lausanne with the heartfelt request to indicate to Greece the article stating that the muftis of the Muslim Minority are elected,” the ministry said in a press release. 

“As is well known, there is no relevant provision in the Treaty of Lausanne.”

The statement was a response to Cavusoglu who congratulated Ibrahim Serif for being “re-elected as the Chairman of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board,” according to a tweet on his official account. 

Greece appoints the local Muslim clerics – known as muftis – instead of recognizing those elected by the local population.