Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu said Turkey has ended the joint mechanism with Greece over the hostile remarks of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the country’s inconsistent stance on dialogue efforts, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
Cavushoglu said Greek politicians feel like they cannot please the Greek public if they do not make aggressive remarks against Turkey at least five to 10 times a day.
Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis “no longer exists” for him after the latter’s remarks and criticism of Turkey during his recent trip to the United States. Erdogan said Mitsotakis spoke against Turkey and urged the U.S. Congress not to allow F-16 fighter jets to be sold to Ankara.
The top Turkish diplomat said Greece has to start disarming demilitarized islands in the Aegean.
"Turkey has issued necessary warnings and sent two letters to the U.N. regarding Athens’ violations," he said, as he called on Athens to demilitarize islands to prevent a sovereignty debate.
Turkey may view Finland's membership more favorably
Cavushoglu also said Turkey may view Finland’s membership in NATO relatively more favorably than Sweden, but both countries need to meet expectations.
"Our demands need to be met. We do not accept the excuse that they need to change their laws," he said.
Praising NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for his honest and principled stance, Cavushoglu said the former has been acting constructively and repeatedly says that Turkey's concerns need to be addressed.
He noted that the Foreign Ministry separately summoned French and German envoys over the PKK terrorist group’s demonstrations in their countries.
"Not only Sweden and Finland, but other NATO member-states that support the YPG/PKK need to halt their support," he said.