Shots were fired by former Turkish prime minister and foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu at Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan for the infamous "we will suddenly come one night" statement he made to Greece.
During his interview with the online edition of the Turkish Independent, the leader of the "Party of the Future" directed his fire against Erdoğan, saying that with statements like "we will come suddenly one night", the change of balance now favours Greece, especially with the acquisition of F-35 fighter jets.
"Mr. Erdoğan in the last period in the internal politics with the economy being finished, he makes an effort to overcome this, with a rhetoric of very high tones towards the outside. When every now and then and in every neighbouring country, you throw out threats of the type 'one night we may come suddenly', no one takes you seriously", said Davutoğlu.
He recalled that the specific statement was heard in 1974 during the invasion of Cyprus - which he described as provocative peacekeeping operation, "but the next day, our armed forces were actually in Cyprus."
Gelecek Partisi lideri Ahmet Davutoğlu:
💬"Türkiye'nin milli çıkarlarına aykırı hiçbir adım, 6'lı masa tarafından atılmayacak"
💬"Şu ana kadar herhangi bir genel başkanın ya da masa dışından birinin adaylığı gündeme gelmedi ki blokaj olsun"https://t.co/1aXm2biR7v pic.twitter.com/b2AwjTFXbo
— Independent Turkish (@TurkishIndy) September 13, 2022
The former close associate of the Turkish president attributes the extreme rhetoric against Greece to pre-election expediencies, saying that at the same time Greece is being strengthened by overturning the balance of power in the Aegean.
"While Mr. Erdoğan, with this strong rhetoric, is trying to influence the people for the elections, Turkey is losing important positions in the field. Which position is he losing? The balance in the air between Turkey and Greece is seriously disturbed. The balance in air defence.
"Greece receives the F-35. And in a short period of time, Greece will strengthen, strengthen its forces with the F-35 and in the hands of Turkey then there will be no F-35," said the president of the opposition "Party of the Future".
They are characteristic what was also heard through the mouth of the presenter of the central Fox network news bulletin Selçuk Tepeli, who commented scathingly: "'we will suddenly come one night' which seems to be backfiring for the Turkish president.
"Because we keep saying 'suddenly one night', except that the Greek F-35s will be able to take off from Athens, come to any part of Turkey, return and we won't realise it. Radars don't detect it while F-16s do.
"So, 'suddenly one night' is a song for us, but others will make it a reality," he declared, pointing out the seriousness of the matter.
READ MORE: See how the Greek Coast Guard chases Turkish boats (VIDEO)
