Ankara, April 15 2021: NATO neighbours, Turkey and Greece have once more publicly disagreed over a series of historic disputes during a news conference. The foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias clashes clashed over a range of issues, in particular Turkey’s push into what Greece calls disputed Mediterranean waters. Last August, the two countries narrowly avoided armed conflict when their gunboats collided while shadowing each other during a Turkish push into disputed eastern Mediterranean waters.
The talks, which were intended to convey a message of reconciliation and putting aside differences, started off pleasantly enough when Cavusoglu began by saying Turkey appreciated the “very positive dialogue” they just had in Ankara, but soon enough, Dendias used his opening to convey a series of complaints the country had against Turkey in particular Turkey’s foray into the Mediterranean for gas reserves and the entry of migrants into Europe. The Greek minister also mentioned his displeasure with the treatment of Greek Orthodox minority.
The conference chiefly consisted of verbal barbs exchanged between the two men. At one point, Dendias told Cavusoglu, “Greece’s position is clear and this is not the first time you have heard it,” to which he got a reply from Cavusoglu who said, “If you heavily accuse my country and people before the press, I have to be in a position to respond to that.”
The event continued in the same vein for an intense 35 minutes with mutual recriminations being fired back and forth. The exchange highlights the difficulty the EU and NATO have to surmount in calming the centuries old rivalry between the two countries.
Last month, it was hinted by Turkey that Dendias was coming to prepare what could have been a groundbreaking summit between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.No such announcement followed from the Greek camp. All Dendias offered Cavusoglu was an invitation to visit Athens and the two parted with a few pleasantries and smiles exchanged.
Dendias stated his stance saying Greece will now move forward with Turkey at the expense of its obligations to the EU or by drastically altering its foreign policy. He also accused Turkey of not sticking to its 2016 agreement with Brussels as regards the migrant issue. Dendias also conveyed Greece’s displeasure at Turkey’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque last year.
Cavusoglu said during an argument about Turkey’s treatment of orthodox Greek minority, “You always try to teach us about democracy and law,” he added, “You don’t allow the Turkish minority in Greece to call themselves Turkish. You call them Muslims. If they call themselves Turkish, they are Turkish, you have to recognize this.”
Earlier in the day, referring to his discussion with President Erdogan, Dendias had said to Cavusoglu, “Let’s move past this endless dialogue about our disputes because then we will destroy what we tried to create during the extraordinary meeting with President Erdogan,” Dendias told Cavusoglu.
The event ended with both men trying to laugh off their unusually open and public argument and agreeing to continue their debate over a private dinner.
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