President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have eviently caused frustration in Ankara for honouring the memory of the sad anniversary of the Greek Genocide in Pontus.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry in an announcement spoke of the "delusional" statements by Greek officials, accusing Greece of "distorting historical events."
"We completely reject the unfounded and delusional announcements of the Greek authorities, which, under the pretext of the anniversary of May 19, 1919, distort the historical reality," the provocative statement said, among other things.
Yunanistan’da 19 Mayıs 2021 Tarihinde Düzenlenen Bazı Etkinlikler ve Yapılan Açıklamalar Hk. https://t.co/nAlB3ndQF6 pic.twitter.com/sOINnLmNHp
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) May 19, 2021
Turkey, as it does in the case of the Armenians, is trying to reverse the roles of victim and perpetrator, accusing Greece of "atrocities" against the Turks during the Asia Minor Campaign.
"We call on Greece to work together for peace, stability and a future of prosperity, based on cooperation, instead of trying to falsify historical facts," the provocative statement concluded.
Turkey stubbornly refuses to accept the historical reality and the crimes that took place in the period 1914-1923 in its territory.
Ankara rejects that there was a Genocide of the Greeks, attributing the thousands of deaths to war losses caused by Greece "invading" Anatolia (forgetting the genocide began in 1914 and the Greco-Turkish War in 1919), plague and disease.
At the same time, Turkey accuses Greece and the Pontian organisations of distorting the facts for political motives and internal consumption.
READ MORE: The Pontic Greeks who fought hard and bravely against genocidal barbarity.
