Greece missed opportunity for dialogue, says Türkiye's communications director

ANKARA

The Greek government led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis has failed to take advantage of Türkiye's offer for dialogue, the Turkish communications director has said.

In an interview with Greek daily Kathimerini, published on Sunday, Fahrettin Altun evaluated relations between Ankara and Athens, the current tension over the Aegean Sea, and the militarization of Eastern Aegean islands.

"Our president gave the Mitsotakis government a chance and opened channels for dialogue. The Greek prime minister did not take advantage of this opportunity," Altun said.

Altun said Türkiye wishes to have "good relations with all its neighbors and ensure peace and stability in the region."

Asked about possibility of a meeting between Erdogan and Mitsotakis, Altun said: "I do not think there will be such a meeting under the current conditions."

"Despite promising not to include third countries in bilateral relations, Mitsotakis gave anti-Türkiye messages in the US," he said, adding: "Greece only harms itself by opposing Türkiye self-interestedly or relying on third-party countries."

Altun said that resolving disputes within the framework of diplomacy and international law will particularly be in the interest of the Greek people.

- Tension over Aegean Sea

Commenting on the allegations that Turkish aircraft violated Greek airspace, Altun said: "Greece has been the party responsible for escalating the tension over the Aegean Sea for months.

"You would have seen Turkish warplanes flying over the Attica peninsula if Türkiye decided to play a game as dangerous as Greece. But we don't have such a problem."

Altun underlined that Türkiye will not be the one escalating regional tension, but "we have the resources and capabilities to respond to any move."

- Militarization of Eastern Aegean islands

Speaking on violation of the non-military status of the Eastern Aegean islands and international treaties by Greece, Altun said: "By arming the islands with non-military status, Greece violates international conventions.

"It is absurd to imagine that Türkiye will not speak out against Greece's illegal actions on such an issue," he added.

Greece will only harm itself by opening the current international agreements to discussion, he said, referring to the Lausanne Peace Treaty and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.

Türkiye has rejected the militarization of the islands by Greece since the beginning, protesting the Greek policy of violating the non-military status of the islands since the 1960s.

Ankara has issued protests through diplomatic channels and requested the violations to stop. The issue came to the UN and NATO agenda in the 1970s.

The latest Turkish diplomatic move was to send a letter of complaint to the UN in July 2021, saying the militarization of the islands posed a serious threat to Türkiye's security.

- Türkiye's new drill ship

Answering if Türkiye's drill ship Abdulhamid Han will start operations in August, Altun said: "It is up to Türkiye to decide on its own as a sovereign state where our drilling ships would conduct their operations."

No one should be disturbed by the activities that Türkiye will carry out with its own ships in accordance with international law, he added.

Türkiye has been undertaking drilling activities in its waters over the past four years.