Turkish president writes off Greek premier over his remarks in US

The Greek premier’s comments on Turkiye on an official visit to the US have effectively made him a nonentity, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Report informs referring to the Anadolu Agency.

“We had agreed with (Kyriakos Mitsotakis) to not include third countries in our dispute,” Erdogan said after chairing a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara. Despite this agreement, last week during an official US visit the premier spoke at Congress and urged them not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye, he added.

The US will likely make up its own mind on the F-16s without needing to consult the Greek premier, Erdogan added.

Erdogan also said that in light of the Greek leader’s remarks, Turkiye is calling off a Strategic Council Meeting with Greece.

Mitsotakis’ remarks last week to the US Congress have come under fire from Turkiye, culminating in Erdogan declaring that the premier “no longer exists” for him.

On Turkiye’s refusal to approve Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids unless the countries take a firm stance against terrorism, Erdogan said: “If the countries applying for NATO membership look at their past, they will see that we have made major contributions to them as well against the threats arising from the east. Our approach to NATO’s enlargement originates not from bigotry or animosity but from our principled stance on combatting terrorism.”

Erdogan said Ankara finds the ongoing anti-Turkiye approaches in Sweden and Finland unacceptable, stressing that just a few days ago, the terrorist groups PKK/YPG and DHKP-C marched down the streets of Stockholm with posters showing their ringleaders.

Finland and Sweden should make a choice between giving de facto and political support to terrorist groups or waiting for Turkiye to agree to their NATO membership, he said.