Turkish President Tayyip Recep Tayyip Erdogan has teased something again after conciliatory tones in the dispute with Greece. According to media reports over the weekend in Ankara, Erdogan said he had spoken with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about a “demilitarization of Greek islands”. However, the protracted conflict does not only come from the government in Athens, it is also constantly provoked by their “friends lobby in the White House”.
It immediately rained denials from the Greek side. In mid-July, a meeting between Erdogan and Mitsotakis took place in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on the sidelines of the NATO summit. However, Foreign Minister Girgos Gerapetritis stated during the parliamentary session that no topics were discussed that would affect issues of Greek sovereignty.
“demilitarization”
Efforts are being made to put relations with neighboring Turkey on a new footing. However, issues of territorial integrity are not an issue. This also includes the aforementioned “demilitarization”.
A year ago, in June, Erdogan cut bilateral contacts with Greek politicians after Mitsotakis clearly advised the United States not to sell arms to Turkey during a visit to Washington. Relations reached an all-time low. However, since the devastating earthquake in Turkey in February, the two NATO member states have been trying to calm down.
difficult relationship
The reason for the difficult relationship is, among other things, a dispute over sovereign rights and natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean. In addition, Erdogan and many of his ministers questioned Greek sovereignty over dozens of Aegean islands, including Rhodes and Lesbos. Erdogan also accuses Greece of illegally militarizing islands near Turkey. Greece denies this and argues that a possible military presence on the islands and in their surroundings is based on the right of national defence.
Source: Krone
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