Mitsotakis: Ankara is alone
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went back on the offensive on Tuesday, accusing Greece of harboring terrorists and conducting a “covert occupation” of the eastern Aegean islands, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed to Turkey’s growing isolation and urged it to return to the path of “essential dialogue.”
“Whatever Greece had to say, it said clearly in the UN, both about its red lines and its friendly attitude toward the Turkish people,” Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting, adding that Ankara “can monotonously continue its lies and threats, but it is alone in this game…”
“They are not just going against Greece; they have Europe in its entirety and our allies at NATO to contend with” in Athens after the latest escalation of tension from Ankara.
“Instead of inflammatory words, let them finally choose peaceful acts and the path of essential dialogue,” he said, adding that Greece “remains calm and confident on its clear positions, with the power of international law, the Armed Forces on alert and the support of our allies.”
Mitsotakis said there has been too much talk coming from Ankara, and that it is time for those doing the talking to deal with the state of the Turkish economy.
In the meantime, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported Erdogan as telling a meeting of AKP party province chiefs that “terrorists are protected in almost every country in Europe, especially in Greece’s Lavrio camp.”
In an apparent reference to the increased US military presence in the northeastern Greek port of Alexandroupoli, Erdogan also reportedly expressed his frustration with “those provoking Greece,” saying that “weapons piled up in Western Thrace mean nothing to us.”
“The weapons piled up in Western Thrace and the islands make no sense to us because our power is far beyond them, but we remind you that this means a covert occupation,” Erdogan added, reiterating demands by Ankara for Greece to demilitarize its islands.
“Do you think the support from America and Europe will save you? It won’t save you,” Erdogan was quoted by the popular Turkish daily Sozcu as saying.
