Angelos Syrigos spoke to SKAI about the new provocative statement made by Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez about the Treaty of Lausanne.
Dönmez raised the issue of the Treaty of Lausanne as a precondition for exploratory talks.
“Turkey bears disturbing similarities with Nazi Germany now,” said Syrigos, an assistant Professor of International Law and Foreign Policy.
“Nazi Germany followed ‘lebensraum’ [living space] and Turkey, respectively, follow the idea of the ‘Blue Homeland’,” he continued.
“So, Nazi Germany wanted to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles, Turkey wants to get rid of the Treaty of Lausanne,” explained Syrigos, who is also a Member of Parliament for the ruling New Democracy party.
“The Treaty of Lausanne is a historic text, made 97 years ago. There is no point in discussing it today. The conditions that set boundaries are considered sacred in international law. You do not touch them,” he said.
“These are the only conditions that are not allowed to be revised, as they are the result of bloody conflicts,” the professor added.
As the MP explained, “if negotiations start from such issues that lead to a deadlock, you will not end up anywhere. We want de-escalation from the exploratory talks to come to fruition.”
“Turkey does not like exploratory talks. It wants to get out of it and that is why it is opening the agenda,” he said.