Akar: Some Greek politicians and soldiers sleep and live in dreams

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has once again made new provocative statements against.

"In Greece, some politicians and soldiers sleep and live in dreams. They should wake up, see the facts and behave accordingly," Akar defiantly stated.

Answering a question from Hürriyet editor-in-chief Ahmet Hakan on whether Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos responded to his invitation to visit Turkey, Akar accused his counterpart of constantly postponing it, repeating the shots against Athens that it does not engage in dialogue with Ankara.

"We are in favour of solving problems through dialogue within the framework of good neighbourly relations. It is not possible to solve problems without dialogue," he said, adding that the Greek delegation has not visited Ankara in the last two years to discuss confidence-building measures.

Akar spoke of 20 problems between Greece and Turkey, which he did not name but are included in the agenda that Athens flatly rejects, of which 3-5 could be discussed.

“Do we have 20 problems? We emphasised that at least 3-5 of these can be resolved in meetings between delegations. If not, they can be managed in a way that does not harm the region and the alliance in NATO," he said.

The Turkish minister said that Ankara will not give up its rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, calling on Greece not to be led astray by others and to "step on the ground". As he stated: "To claim our rights is not a threat, to talk about dialogue is not a weakness.”

READ MORE: Turkish media imagine a Greek invasion of Anatolia from Lesvos, Chios and Samos.