In an extremely provocative delirium, the spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), Ömer Çelik, spoke, in the context of the meeting of the ruling party, about the shipwreck off Pylos, which left hundreds did.
He, in fact, had the audacity to talk about... crimes against humanity by Greece, claiming that the country "is turning the Mediterranean into a graveyard."
This provocative rhetoric recalled the false narrative by Ankara a few months ago that wanted the Greeks to sink the boats with the immigrants, and it also proves that the supposed post-earthquake diplomacy is not a success, as often claimed.
Çelik did not hesitate, this time, to proceed with a complete distortion of the facts, arguing: "The actions of the Greek coast guard should be considered as crimes against humanity."
"The Greek coast guard was trying to push a migrant boat with 600 people into Turkish territorial waters. There should be an international investigation and observation," were some the incendiary words and false claims of the AKP spokesman.
Çelik did not limit himself to these false claims though, but also asserted: "Boats sink and immigrants die. The actions of the Greek coast guard should be considered as crimes against humanity."
"This is an attempt to kill people. The Greek coastguard is turning the Mediterranean into a migrant graveyard right in front of all of us. Those responsible must be punished."
Regarding Sweden's accession to NATO
Omer Celik also referred to Sweden's request for its accession to NATO arguing that "it is not enough for Sweden to make laws, we must also see the implementation."
In particular, he said: "Those who want to become members of NATO must also show actions... It is not enough for Sweden to issue laws, we must also see the implementation. To date they have not given us members who were related to terrorism, but to drugs."
"Some apply indirect and direct obstacles and embargoes to NATO. No one should blame Turkey in case it looks for alternatives. We are a sovereign state. We will not decide on our national security according to the whims of a few senators," the spokesperson continued.
"This is an ill-educated attitude that causes a danger to the security of NATO."
The US and NATO for the F-16
He also issued threats against the US and NATO over the F-16 issue. The AKP spokesman warned: “If they attempt to implement an indirect or direct embargo on Turkey, they will have no effect but threaten common security.
"They should not blame Turkey if it tries to look for alternatives since they are trying to prevent directly or indirectly from acquiring weapon systems for its national security. This is what we want within the framework of NATO for common security.
"Turkey is a sovereign state. We will not make decisions about our national security according to the whims of some lobbyist-affiliated senators.
"For the needs of our Air Force and our other needs, there is no objective attitude of the senators. This is an ill-educated attitude that endangers the security of NATO."
READ MORE: UK PM: Greek shipwreck shows need for deterring migrants from illegal routes.
