Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar made new provocative statements against Greece, this time accusing Greek politicians of undermining and destroying his country's peace efforts.
"In an inexplicable way, some politicians in Greece, and this I must emphasise, with a lust for weapons programs, are trying to do everything to harm the peace and stability between the two countries," said Akar.
"We support dialogue, but we will not allow our rights to be violated," he continued, avoiding to name them, however, indirectly targeting Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias and Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.
Clearly disturbed by Greece's ongoing armaments program, the Turkish Defence Minister emphasised that his country is "extending the hand of peace and negotiations" to Greece, advocating the resolution of bilateral problems in peaceful ways.
"They should know, however, that we will not allow the rights of our brothers in Cyprus to be violated, nor ours. Nor will we accept fait accompli," he said.
Akar reiterated the position of Ankara, for a two-state solution in Cyprus, arguing that half a century of negotiations to solve the problem have ended nowhere.
"We made our decision. We are talking about two sovereign, independent states. The issue is no longer the establishment of this state, but the recognition of this state," he said, regarding the occupied part.
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