Turkey on Sunday criticized “unfounded” remarks made by Greece’s foreign minister.
“EXPLORATORY TALKS WERE SUSPENDED IN 2016 UPON THE REQUEST OF GREECE”
“The claims and remarks of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Dendias in his interview with the newspaper Eleftheros Typos, which was published today (11 October), are unfounded,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.
“Exploratory talks were suspended in 2016 upon the request of Greece. Claiming that the talks were suspended on the account of Turkey is an attempt to mislead public opinion,” Aksoy said. “By the same token, the claim that a single issue is discussed within the framework of exploratory talks does not reflect the reality. These talks are aimed at resolving all interrelated issues between the two countries,” he said.
“On the other hand, it is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus who opened the coastal front of Maras [Varosha in Greek] for public visits, not Turkey,” the statement read.
Aksoy said the military exercise that was announced by Turkey for Oct. 28, 2020 in the Aegean Sea and criticized by Dendias is actually a response to the military exercise previously announced by Greece to be conducted on Oct. 29, contrary to the 1988 Memorandum of Understanding of Athens.
“In spite of our warnings, the fact that Greece is conducting an exercise on our national day is an approach devoid of good faith,” he said.