“Statements about the peaceful coexistence of our peoples are important and valuable when accompanied by deeds,” Greek President Prokopis Pavlopopoulos said on Sunday commenting on Turkish counterpart Erdogan who called on “peace with Greece.” Furthermore, Pavlopoulos ruled out an exchange between the two Greek soldiers in Turkish custody and the eight Turkish servicemen who fled to Greece and were granted political asylum.
“There is no question of an exchange of the two Greek soldiers detained in Adrianople, with the eight Turks in Greece,” the President stressed.
“I want to emphasize that for us, Greeks, yesterday’s statements by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for the peaceful coexistence of our peoples are welcomed. Ir’s only that such statements are important and valuable when accompanied by deeds. And this does not arise if one considers what he emphasized about the two Greek soldiers who have been arbitrarily held for a long time in violation of any concept of friendship and good neighborliness, Pavlopoulos said.
He described Erdogan’s proposal as “unthinkable” and “unacceptable” and stressed that while the Greek soldiers are in Turkish custody arbitrarily, the Turkish citizens have been granted political asylum in accordance with the rules of International Law.
“Such a confusion means ignorance of international law and international legality, which is unacceptable, ” Pavlopoulos underlined.
Greek Defense Minister and Tsipras junior coalition partner, Panos Kammenos, said solution for the peaceful coexistence is the immediate release of the ‘hostages’ as he described for one more time the Greek soldiers.
Όταν μίλησα για ομηρία των Ελλήνων στρατιωτικών δέχτηκα ακόμη μια φορά επίθεση, χλευασμό δυστυχώς επιβεβαιώνομαι με την «πρόταση ανταλλαγής». Η Ελλάδα επιθυμεί την ειρηνική συμβίωση που είναι προς όφελος των Λαών μας, η άμεση απελευθέρωση των ομήρων η λύση https://t.co/QV3mfWuWbX
— Panos Kammenos (@PanosKammenos) April 22, 2018
“When I talked about the Greek soldiers taken hostages, I was once again attacked, but I am sadly confirmed with the “exchange suggestion”. Greece wants a peaceful coexistence for the benefit of our peoples, the solution is the immediate release of the hostages.”
