Cavusoglu says US siding against Turkey in the Aegean, East Med
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized Washington for allegedly siding with Greece and Cyprus over disputes with Turkey in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Despite the statement by the US ambassador who said that [the Americans] are impartial, their scale is broken, they no longer maintain a balanced approach, and they decided to lift the Greek-Cypriot arms embargo for one year,” Cavusoglu said during a visit to the southern Turkish province of Mersin on Friday.
He also criticized the presence of several US military bases in Greece.
In a written statement earlier this week, US Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake confirmed that there has been no change in the US position on security in the Aegean.
“Our cooperation in the field of security with our NATO allies Turkey and Greece is not based on taking sides or destabilizing one of the partners,” Flake said.
“Our defense cooperation with Greece strengthens NATO’s eastern flank by supporting Ukraine and our NATO allies in Central and Eastern Europe. The primary goal we share with our NATO allies Turkey and Greece is to ensure peace, security and stability throughout the region,” he said.
