Akar's anger over the Mitsotakis-Macron meeting: "Greece's policy is two-faced and hypocritical"

Turkey expressed anger over yesterday's meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar accused Greece of "two-faced and hypocritical politics".

"They are trying to tarnish the image of Turkey. They try to exploit and distort every event, influence third parties with lies and slander and complain about Turkey in third countries," he said.

At the same time, he claimed was in favour of solving issues within the framework of good neighbourly relations and based on international law, whilst Turkish jets and drones continue to violate Greek air space on a daily basis.

"Learn from history. Do not enter into new adventures. Some may say things in your ear. You have seen in history that these are not true. Don't repeat the same thing. Be smart. There are some politicians in Greece who increase tensions for personal calculations and their internal politics," the Turkish minister continued.

"Two-faced and hypocritical policy"

Referring indirectly but clearly to yesterday's meeting between Mitsotakis and Macron, the Turkish Minister of Defence argued that "it is not wrong to say that a truly two-faced policy is being followed. There is a hypocritical policy. On the one hand, we insist on dialogue, they act like they understand it and go to answer, but on the other hand, as soon as they are left alone, they continue to complain about Turkeybased on lies every time they talk to third countries. Don't they have a mirror in their homes? Let them look in the mirror! Sometimes people look in the mirror and see the truth. And maybe they are ashamed! Maybe they are embarrassed! There cannot be such a two-faced attitude, such hypocrisy."

In fact, he asserted that "we are very patient. But despite our well-intentioned efforts, unfortunately neighbouring Greece with provocative actions and statements continues to increase the tension, and we are trying to do everything to prevent it."

"We are determined to protect our rights and interests"

At the same time, he accused Greece of trying to harass national and NATO activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, arguing that "even these activities are being harassed and locked with Russian S-300 air defense systems.

As he claimed, this is a hostile attitude. Turkey, he added, will not leave any of these behaviours unanswered.

Akar again challenged the status of the Muslim minority of Thrace too.

"They do not accept the existence of our brothers there. They say 'they are Muslims'," he said, accusing Greece of violating the Lausanne Agreement and the Paris Agreement.

However, he forgot what Turkey's own Ministry of Foreign Affairs says about the Muslim minority of Thrace, compromised mostly of Greeks, Roma and Pomaks (Slavic-speaking Muslims).

Turkey’s own Foreign Ministry website affirms that there is only a Muslim minority in Thrace.

The Treaty of Lausanne Part VI Article 2 states:

“Moslems established in the region to the east of the frontier line laid down in 1918 by the Treaty of Bucharest shall be considered as Moslem inhabitants of Western Thrace.”

In the same context, he again raised the supposed issue of the demilitarisation of Greece's islands and noted that the talks on Confidence Building Measures have stalled.

"There must be developments and that it would be the right way to start negotiations as soon as possible to solve our problems by peaceful means and methods, through dialogue. However, what we say should in no way be taken as weakness. We are determined and fortunately able to protect the rights and interests of both ourselves and our Cypriot brothers, in the Aegean, the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus," he announced.

READ MORE: Turkish claims on demilitarising the Aegean Islands via Treaty of Lausanne are fake: Here’s why.