ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was impossible to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis until the Greek leader “gets his act together”, NTV television reported on Friday, amid renewed tensions between NATO members and neighbours.
Historical rivals Turkey and Greece are at odds over issues ranging from flights and the status of Aegean islands, maritime borders and hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean and ethnically divided Cyprus.
Erdogan said Mitsotakis “no longer exists for him” after the Greek prime minister lobbied the United States not to sell Turkey F-16 fighter jets during a speech to the US Congress and NATO members traded accusations of airspace violations and the islands.
“Let it harden. Until it hardens, it is not possible to meet,” Erdogan told reporters on his way back from a NATO summit in Madrid.
Speaking to reporters in Madrid on Thursday, Mitsotakis said EU member Greece was open to dialogue with Turkey and reiterated that he would not engage in a “dialogue of personal confrontations” with Erdogan.
“I will continue to push Greece’s door for dialogue within the framework we have defined, this door is always open. And at the same time, our country will continue, when there is an opportunity, to raise the issues of Turkish aggression inside the European Union, bilaterally with our partners,” he said.
Mitsotakis added that Greece is “forming its own alliances” and that it wants support from allies on national issues, but also seeks Turkey as an interlocutor.
Erdogan was angered by Mitsotakis over what he said was the Greek leader’s reneging on a promise to discuss bilateral issues together without involving other countries. He also canceled a high-level dialogue meeting between the neighbors in response to the tensions.
Mitsotakis said earlier Thursday that Greece had sent a formal request to the United States to buy 20 F-35 fighter jets and was exploring the purchase of a second batch as Athens ramps up military procurement amid tensions with Ankara.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukku in Ankara and Rene Maltezou in Athens; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Darren Butler and Alison Williams)
Add Comment