K. Mitsotakis calls on Erdogan to take a stand on the Bakhtseli challenge

The prime minister comments on the unprecedented challenge of Devlet Bakhtseli, who received from the Gray Wolves a map that shows half of the Aegean and Crete as belonging to the neighbor, adding another piece to the mosaic of détente on the part of Ankara.

Mr. Mitsotakis calls on Mr. Erdogan to take a clear position on the challenge of his government partner, through a post on Twitter.

“Take a good look at this map. Crete, Rhodes, Lesvos, Chios, Samos are being consumed by Turkey. Extremist fever dream or Turkey’s official policy? Another provocation or a real target?”

President Erdogan must make his position clear regarding the latest antics of his junior coalition partner,” the prime minister stressed.

The Prime Minister’s post in English:

Take a good look at this map. Crete, Rhodes, Lesvos, Chios, Samos all consumed by Turkey. A fever dream of extremists or Turkey’s official policy? Another provocation or the true goal?
President Erdogan must make his position clear on his junior coalition partner’s latest antics. pic.twitter.com/hX4sSZ924j

— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) July 11, 2022

Earlier, Capital.gr broadcast the following: With calmness and determination, Athens responds to Ankara’s new revisionist delirium, having completed a long cycle of diplomatic information of partners and allies in the European Union and NATO about the challenges of its neighbor.

After the extreme statements of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the baton, in the last two twenty-four hours, passed into the hands of the far-right government partner of the Turkish president, Devlet Bakhceli, who received from the Gray Wolves a tableau with a map, showing half of the Aegean and Crete belonging to the neighbor, adding another piece to the mosaic of détente on the side of Ankara. It was preceded by the positions of the Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, who brought back to the fore the entire provocative agenda, with the neighbor seeing the strong front of the Congress rising on its horizon in terms of its pursuits to purchase and upgrade the F-16 . “We will not allow our rights to be violated, nor will we allow it to be done. We repeat this. Our president said this. We are not kidding. Don’t go on some adventure like spoiled brats, relying on others,” Mr. Akar said, raising the bar of rhetorical outbursts, with the Greek capital constantly having Turkey’s delinquency on its radar.

“This is a particularly aggressive and provocative action and is absolutely condemnable… Unfortunately, it is part of the escalation of extreme rhetoric from Turkey that we witness on a daily basis. We expect immediate, categorical and public condemnation of this unacceptable act of challenging territorial sovereignty of our country”, was the comment of diplomatic sources on the extreme action of the government partner, Devlet Bakhceli. “Greece is monitoring the developments with caution, prudence and undivided attention. We are prepared, better than ever, to manage the Turkish aggression as a whole… We are vigilant, but we are not afraid and we remain calm and determined”, was the message issued (Realnews) by the government official representative, Yiannis Oikonomou.

Athens continues the cycle of information on the challenges of its neighbor and in the context of defense diplomacy, military and political leadership of the Ministry of National Defense are traveling to the United States of America. The Chief of the General Staff of National Defense is already in Washington, where he will have four meeting with his American counterpart and talks with Pentagon officials, while on July 17 Mr. Panagiotopoulos will meet the American Minister of Defense, also having a series of contacts with both Americans and the Greek diaspora. Political and military leadership is also expected to travel to Texas, to the facilities where the F-35 is manufactured, with the whole context of contacts in the United States being another opportunity to put Greek concerns and Greek positions to the American factor. Already, 35 Democratic and Republican congressmen have signed a letter sent to President Biden, in which it is requested not to sell American weapons systems to Ankara, against the background of the discussions on the sale of F-16, but also the modernization of the existing fleet of the neighbor. “His regime has repeatedly used its military might to destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the South Caucasus and North Africa. Turkish-backed and Turkish-backed forces have used US-made weapons and components during during these invasions, to commit war crimes, including bombing civilians and targets such as hospitals and schools in Iraq, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. They have also been used repeatedly to violate the territorial integrity of NATO allies and partners, such as Greece and Cyprus. These are not the actions of a committed and reliable ally,” the letter states, among other things.