Erdoğan says he will never agree to meet Mitsotakis again
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused Greece of hostile behaviour towards Turkey. On a state visit to the US last week, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recommended that the US restrict its arms sales to Turkey, prompting an indignant response from Ankara. The Greek press looks for ways forward.
Dangerous rhetoric
Erdoğan systematically demonises Greece, writes Proto Thema:
“A few hours after announcing that he would never meet Mitsotakis again, Erdoğan called Greece a bad neighbour and claimed that after the Operation Attila [Turkish invasion of Cyprus], Ankara had been forced to build a war industry to counter the sanctions of the international community. ... In other words, he's trying to kill two birds with one stone: firstly, he is saying that Greece is to blame for everything. And secondly, he is preparing the Turkish public for a potential war or a new 'peace operation', as the Turks called the invasion of Cyprus in 1974.”
Time the US talked Turkey
Protagon would like to see tough words from Washington:
“The tensions in Greek-Turkish relations are the field on which the results of Mitsotakis' visit to the US will be tested. ... How will Washington react: ... Will it try another balancing act or send a clear signal for Greece's security this time? Yes, declarations, intentions and commitments are important and useful. But the whole game, the whole relationship that is being forged, aims above all to meet a vital need: to send Turkey the right message at the right time. And that time is now.”