Greece, Turkey at odds over minority schools
ISTANBUL – Tensions between Turkey and Greece are escalating due to disputes surrounding educational policies for minority schools. The Turkish Ministry of Education has introduced new restrictions affecting Greek minority schools in Istanbul, limiting events and visits that are not directly related to educational purposes. According to reports, the move was a reaction to similar restrictions imposed on Muslim minority schools in Western Thrace by Greek authorities.
The new guidelines state that any events or activities related to education must be approved by Turkish authorities at least 15 days in advance. Only parents or officials from the Education Ministry are permitted to visit these schools, and any requests for visits must also be submitted at least two weeks prior for approval. Sources indicate that these measures closely mirror those previously enacted by Greek authorities regarding Muslim minority schools in Thrace, indicating a tit-for-tat dynamic in educational oversight.
Despite a recent meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was perceived as positive, tensions are resurfacing due, according to Ankara, to specific actions taken by Athens, including discussions regarding the extension of territorial waters in the Aegean and disputes over maritime boundaries. Ankara favors a comprehensive approach to resolving Aegean issues, while Greece is focused solely on delimiting maritime zones.
Underscoring the fragility of relations, Turkey’s National Security Council on Friday expressed its commitment to stability in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas and cautioned against any potential exploitation of Turkey’s cooperative stance, emphasizing that it would not tolerate the misuse of its willingness to engage in dialogue.
Furthermore, Turkey’s refusal to participate in a NATO exercise hosted in Greece adds another layer of complexity to the bilateral relationship. The Turkish Defense Ministry accused Athens of imposing unreasonable conditions concerning the sharing of flight information. Although NATO has attempted to facilitate dialogue and cooperation, Turkey attributed its withdrawal from the exercise to Greece’s insistence on maintaining unilateral control over specific airspace.
