Greece says it rejects Turkish admonitions on Muslim minority
Athens accused Ankara of trying to intervene in its domestic affairs after Turkey’s Foreign Ministry called on Greece to investigate threats received by a Muslim member of Greek Parliament and expressing support for the country’s “Turkish minority.”
Huseyin Zeybek, a lawmaker with main opposition party SYRIZA from Xanthi, told Turkish TV channel A Haber that a citizen called on a live television program on Sept. 12 and threatened to kill him.
In response to the allegations, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it stood by the “Turkish minority of Western Thrace, who did not give up their fight for human rights and freedom, despite threats and pressures.”
“Turkey, once again, is trying to intervene in the internal affairs of another state, in violation of fundamental rules of international behavior,” Greece’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that Athens “respects international law and fully implements its international obligations arising from International Conventions, such as the Treaty of Lausanne, unlike Turkey.”
“We do not accept admonitions from third countries, such as Turkey, let alone when they concern Greek citizens,” it added.
