The Greek Secretary of State has highlighted that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is "humiliated" and that no one is diplomatically supporting Turkey in its aggression against Greece and Cyprus.
"Erdoğan feels humiliated diplomatically, as no one on the diplomatic chessboard supports him. He owes this to the Greek Prime Minister," said Minister of State, George Gerapetritis, while speaking to Alpha 989. "Erdoğan expected things to be different. He does not forgive the way we managed Evros. It was a victory of the Greek forces that changed the balances regarding the essence of the policy."
Gerapetritis, who is also a university professor, was referring to Turkey's attempt to assymetrically invade Greece in March with illegal immigrants.
"Until then, Erdoğan always said that 'in the field we are unbeatable.' This was demolished in Evros," he said.
"The issue with Turkey concerns the whole world, not only Greek. I consider it an issue of universal peace. It is not a simple country, but it is at a geopolitical crossroads, it is a regional power and historically it has influenced large sections of the Muslim world. There are fragile alliances in the Arab world. Traditionally powerful players, such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, have also been divided over Syria and Libya. On one front, Turkey with Qatar has tensions with the Emirates-Egypt front. This is a battle for power and influence in the Muslim world," he explained.
Regarding the multilateral diplomacy that Greece has developed, Gerapetritis stressed that "we try to have a forward-looking reading in diplomacy," adding: "The approach to Egypt was not accidental. The fact that Turkey is in diplomatic isolation, combined with a difficult economic situation, as there seems to be a significant deterioration, creates a sense of suffocation, and this is not always good," he said, explaining that historically, some leaders "try with technical means to cause a rally inside their country."
Referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he stressed: "When the chancellor refers to justice, that is what we say. That we will be faithful to them. We are not claiming anything more, we are not in an aggressive mood, but there will be no concessions."
Commenting on Erdoğan's attack on France and Greece, and when asked how the Greek Prime Minister responds, the Minister of State said: "The Prime Minister's response is prudence, wisdom and determination. We are people of deeds, not of words. Turkey is the one that will pay if it continues this rhetoric."
