Ankara is once again insisting on rhetoric about a “Turkish minority” in Western Thrace, according to a statement released today by Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a post by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on X, marking what Turkey refers to as the “Day of National Resistance and Social Solidarity of the Turks of Western Thrace,” January 29 is described as “symbolizing the process that marked the recognition of the national identity of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.”

At the same time, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stresses that “we continue to claim the rights of our compatriots on the basis of international law and treaties and will always defend them.”

The post by the Turkish Foreign Ministry

Unofficial translation of the post:

“On January 29, the Day of National Resistance and Social Solidarity of the Turks of Western Thrace, which symbolizes the process that marked the recognition of the national identity of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, we once again emphasize that we continue to claim the rights of our compatriots on the basis of international law and treaties and that we will always defend them.”