Speaking to the leaders of the three branches, the Turkish military, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar claimed that Greece is pursuing a policy that is not appropriate for a good neighborhood and some of its threatening practices are escalating the tension.
The statements were made just hours before the resumption of exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey.
In his statements, Akar said that “Turkey attaches importance to the talks with Greece”, but said Athens “should leave its uncompromising, provocative attitude as soon as possible for the welfare of the region.”
The Turkish Defense Minister referred to the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and claimed “We want to have good neighborly relations with all our neighbours, especially Greece and of course Egypt.”
“As always, we attach importance to dialogue and respect for international law,” Akar added as his country continues to illegally occupy northern Cyprus and Iraq.
“But, unfortunately, Greece still hinders the establishment of these good neighborly relations in a style that does not suit a good neighborhood and makes some threatening practices that escalate tensions,” he said.
“Every time they take the issues out of the Turkey-Greece context and think that they can reap certain benefits by reflecting the issue as one of Turkey-European Union and Turkey-US,” Akar said in frustration.
“It is impossible to get somewhere in this way,” the Turkish minister claimed.
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