Today, Kyriakos Mitsotakis traveled to Ankara, where he earlier this afternoon met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Present at the meeting were the two Foreign Ministers, Georgios Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, as well as the two diplomatic advisors, Anna Maria Boura and Akif Cagatay Kılıc.
The talks between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were held in a good atmosphere, but during their joint statements, live disagreements emerged on three levels.
The Turkish president again referred to a “Turkish minority” with the prime minister immediately responding that the minority is religious and this is defined by international treaties, while there was also disagreement over the Chora Monastery.
However, the dispute was more intense over Hamas with Erdogan talking about a “resistance organisation” and the prime minister countering that it is a terrorist organisation.
They agreed, however, that there should be an immediate ceasefire and announced agreements on the economy, civil protection and migration policy. In addition, they announced a new “double meeting” in Athens and Ankara.
Statements by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:
While during their joint statements the atmosphere was warm on issues such as economic cooperation, migration and civil protection, issues such as the conversion of the Chora Monastery into a mosque, the role of Hamas and the identity of the minority in Thrace were a reason for the two leaders to disagree and engage in a “ping pong” of statements and counter-statements.
Erdogan spoke of a sincere and constructive conversation with the prime minister, but called the Muslim minority Turkish. They also disagreed on Israel and Hamas. “We are working towards the goal if we raise to $10bn the trade between us,” he also said. “To solve problems within the framework of international law,” Erdogan added, adding that high on the agenda of the discussion were the Kurdish and Cyprus issues.
The Turkish president then made a clear reference to the Turkish minority in Thrace, saying he “believes it can strengthen the friendship between the two peoples.”
On the Chora Monastery:
On the Chora Monastery and its conversion into a mosque, he claimed that “we opened it to the public after a decision that was taken years ago and the goal is to have it included in Unesco as a world heritage site.” He further mentioned Gaza and accused Israel of committing genocide in the region.
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For his part, the Greek Prime Minister in his speech, responded regarding the Monastery of Chora, referring to monuments that are a universal presence. “We had the opportunity to frankly discuss our sadness and dissatisfaction about the fact that the Chora Monastery will no longer function as a ‘temenas'”.
I heard what the President said and I believe that at the very least it is important to protect the cultural value of this monument so that it can be visited by everyone and everyone can enjoy this cultural treasure,” Mitsotakis said.
On the minority in Thrace
Referring to the Muslim minority, Mitsotakis stressed that minorities in our country are defined by the Lausanne Treaty. “In Thrace, Muslims and Christians live together in harmony and I am committed to this goal and the interest of the Greek state is practical,” he said, adding that the classification of the minority as a religious minority is explicitly provided for by the Lausanne Treaty.
