Greece would not accept terrorists in its territory, minister tells Ankara

Greece does not allow terrorists in its territory, Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos said on Monday, after a Turkish minister said the suspect of a bomb blast in Istanbul on Sunday would have fled to Greece if she had not been arrested.

“Greece guards its borders very well and no one can enter the country illegally, therefore Greece would never accept terrorists on its territory,” he told Skai TV on Monday. “Greece against any act of terrorism, wherever it occurs and against whomever it is directed, as a matter of principle,” he added.

Turkish authorities detained a Syrian woman whom they claimed has links to Kurdish militants and that she confessed to planting the bomb that exploded on Istanbul’s Istiklal avenue.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the suspect would have fled to neighboring Greece if she had not been detained.

Six Turkish citizens, two members each of three families, were killed in the attack. No group has claimed responsibility.

[Kathimerini/AP]