“Turkey’s behavior on the issue of Hagia Sophia is directed against Europe,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday adding that this behavior was “outside the frame and international law.
During joint statements with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Athens, Mitsotakis said that “Turkey’s provocations, which are many, are not just directed at our two countries, Greece and Cyprus, but also at Europe.”
This behavior comes from a country that was formally a candidate for EU membership, he said adding that “the issue needs a European response.”
Stressing that “monuments are not humiliated but they humiliate those who do not respect them,” Mitsotakis declared his determination that “the questioning of our sovereign rights means that we are ready for more dynamic reactions.”
“Turkey claims the role of local troublemaker and threatens stability throughout the region,” he said, adding that “Greece and Cyprus have never rejected dialogue in good faith based on the principles of international law, respect for human rights and good neighborly relations.”
President Anastasiades also spoke about the violation of international law by Turkey on the issue of Hagia Sophia and noted: “We seek dialogue for peace and stability in the region. We do not provoke, but we are provoked. Not Greece and Cyprus, but Europe.”
The leaders of Greece and Cyprus confirmed the excellent coordination of the two governments and spoke of the “joint determination to face the aggression of the Turks, not through a corresponding challenge but through dialogue, through a European intervention with substance, which will lead to peace and respect for international law.”
