Turkey continued to provoke Greece with its inflammatory rhetoric, accusing Greece of using inhumane practises against “Turkish minorities” in northern Greece today. The new attack by the Turkish Ministry occurred during a response by the spokesperson, Hami Aksoy, in response to a question regarding the statement made by Greek President Prokopios Pavlopulos during his visit to Armenia.
The unfounded allegations came only a few hours before the meeting of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu with Nikos Dendias in Geneva. The statement reads as following:
We witness that Greece continues to take side with the hostile circles against Turkey and support their baseless stance and allegations.
Turkey has never forgotten the atrocities committed by Greece against Turks and other citizens of the Ottoman Empire. In this regard, it is a well-known fact that Greece has systematically annihilated Turks and Muslims in the region during and after the period of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Even today, Greece continues its inhumane practices against its Turkish minorities, taking it as far as to punish Muftis with imprisonment for performing a Friday prayer.
Turkey, who believes the necessity of taking lessons of peace and fraternity rather than hostility from history, is well aware of the said historical realities.
On this occasion, we remind Greece once again that it cannot benefit from supporting acts and policies against our country. We call upon it to act more responsibly since we believe that favouring friendship and good neighbourliness is the only way to promote peace, stability and welfare in our region.
On the other hand, Turkey’s position regarding the 1915 events was clearly put forward by the statement of H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 23, 2014 during his tenure as Prime Minister. There is no need for further explanation on this matter.
