“The Treaty of Lausanne is clear and not open to misinterpretation. It refers to a Muslim minority,” diplomatic sources said in Athens responding to the provocative statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who raised the issue of a “Turkish minority,” on Thursday.
Addressing the Turkish Parliament’s budget committee, Fidan for one more time raised the issue of Greece’s Muslim minority, referring to the “Turkish minority in Western Thrace” and demanding that Greece refrains from any provocations.
Fidan emphasized that during high-level meetings with Greek officials that there were efforts focusing on enhancing positive relations, highlighting the Athens Declaration for Friendly Relations and Good Neighborliness as a framework for dialogue.
“We expect Greece to avoid provocations,” Fidan stated, while stressing that “the status of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and the Turkish nationals in the Dodecanese remain priorities for Turkey.”
Fidan has been also claiming that there is more than one just issue to be solved between the two countries as Greece reiterates it is only the demarkation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Turkish FM claimed that in recent meetings all these issues have been discussed.
The diplomatic sources in Athens said that the agenda during the meeting was exactly the same as in the previous meetings. Bilateral, international and regional issues, and in particular, in this specific meeting, the Cyprus issue.
- The Greek side raised issues related to the surveys being conducted for the electrical interconnection.
- No sovereignty-related issue was discussed.
- There was no agreement on the framework for a discussion on the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf.
- The Treaty of Lausanne is clear and cannot be misinterpreted: It refers to a Muslim minority. Turkiye’s constant reference to a non-existent national minority is contrary to the due and faithful application of international law.
Greece will continue its policy of equality and citizenship for all Greek citizens, the sources underlined.
