Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday (local time) that he has no intention of ever meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis again, following the latter’s criticism of Turkey on his recent visit to the United States.
He also cancelled a key meeting between the two countries, accusing the Greek leader of antagonistic behaviour against Turkey.
“How is Greece treating us at the moment? Is not Greece a destination for the FETO organisation at the moment?” Erdogan asked, referring to the Gülen movement, which Turkey defines as a terrorist organisation.
More specifically, Erdogan accused Greece of harbouring followers of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup attempt and of establishing military bases against Turkey.
“There are currently 10 bases in Greece. Why are these bases being created in Greece? Against whom? At the moment Greece owes €400 billion to European countries,” Erdogan added according to Anadolu Agency, Reuters reported.
“Let Mitsotakis think about the future. We are self-sufficient. We are facing a Greece that proposes to the US ‘not to give F-16s to Turkey’. From that point, there was no Mitsotakis for me. The United States will probably not act in accordance with the words of Greece,” he said.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is “strongly and effectively defending both our national rights and international legitimacy,” noted government spokesman Yiannis Economou following the latest comments from the Turkish President.
“We will not engage in confrontational statements with the Turkish leadership, our policy is one of principles,” he added, stressing that Greek foreign policy is heavily based on “history, international law and our alliances, no matter how much this bothers some”.