Turkey accuses Greece of manipulating meetings in relation to NATO

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Jan 2023 12:41
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Greece is exploiting meetings to present its problems "as Turkey's issues in its relations with NATO, the US, and EU," according to Akar.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. Source: Daily Sabah.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar accused Greece on Monday of sabotaging bilateral meetings with Turkey, which were intended for trust-building and cooperation in NATO.

Greece took advantage of the meetings to present its problems "as Turkey's issues in its relations with NATO, the US, and EU," according to Akar, while simultaneously attempting to steer public attention away from domestic scandals.

After Greek politicians' called Turkey a threat, Akar responded by asserting that his country is a reliable ally and poses no threat.

Akar warned Greece on Friday not to go too far with its actions in the Aegean Sea, emphasizing that there would be consequences if Athens armed Aegean islands and extended beyond territorial waters, which could double to more than 19 km off Crete.

In this regard, Ankara underlined that it would not allow Athens' territorial waters to expand by a kilometer into the Aegean Sea.

"Everyone should know that a wrong step in this regard will lead to serious problems... Athens is taking provocative steps," Akar told Turkish NTV broadcaster. Turkey observed that intention as an intention of war, and it also believed that it would cut off Turkey's territorial waters, thus depriving the country of entry to international waters.

Back in October, Akar assured that the Turkish air force and navy were instructed to join forces in countering the deployment of Greek armored vehicles on the neutral Aegean Islands.