Erdogan continues charm offensive
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s choice to repeat a congratulatory telegram on the national holiday of March 25, two years after a similar move on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Greek independence in 2021, is seen to reflect Ankara’s intention to continue on a low-key path and open channels of communication with Athens.
Tellingly, Erdogan’s message to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was followed by an even warmer exchange between foreign ministers Nikos Dendias and Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“I am convinced that the relationship and cooperation between our countries will be further developed through our joint efforts in the coming period,” Erdogan wrote, among other things.
However, he tried, nonetheless, to strike a balance with his domestic nationalist audience, defending his choice to turn the former Greek Orthodox church of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque.
“After 86 years of nostalgia, it has returned to its true image and always according to the will of Mehmed the Conqueror. I see this as an action that broke the bonds our people had and broke them to pieces. Hagia Sophia is a legacy of the Fall (of Constantinople in 1453); we restored it with the prayers of Muhammad and the sounds of the imams. In this way, Turkey has globally validated its economic and political independence,” Erdogan said.
Meanwhile, a trip to Turkey by Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos at the invitation of his counterpart Hulusi Akar is reportedly possible in the coming period.
Despite the recent thaw in relations, at least in terms of statements, Erdogan’s openings and the congratulations to Greece for the March 25 anniversary by the Turkish Embassy in Athens have been slammed by nationalist circles in Ankara, including Sozcu newspaper and the retired admiral Cihat Yayci, one of the architects of the Blue Homeland doctrine, who referred to a “genocide” committed against the Turks during the Greek Revolution.
