Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with President Anastasiades does not mean that Turkey recognizes the Republic of Cyprus, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding that saying hello is a human duty. Regarding Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Turkish Foreign Minister claimed that he "humiliated himself" with his speech to the US Congress.
In an interview with NTV, the Turkish foreign minister said of the F16s Turkey is trying to get from the US that "of course, the Greek lobby says don't give them (the F16s), and other lobbies may say don't give them." He then said that "Mitsotakis begged saying 'don't give them' by speaking against Turkey, against the spirit of the alliance in a way that humiliated himself. There are such attempts, but we believe that it will not be a problem," Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed.
The Turkish Foreign Minister was also asked about the criticism of the opposition because the Turkish President attended a dinner at which President Anastasiades was present.
"It would not be right to leave there just because there was someone there. So let's leave the UN as well. Let's not even attend the meetings of the European Union. This was a transatlantic lunch, off the record. It was on the sidelines of the summit, but it had nothing to do with the summit. So while everyone was there and partners were involved, Spain wanted to organise such a dinner. Something similar happens at the UN," Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
He also said that "there are such transatlantic dinners on the sidelines of the General Assembly, it is done at the level of foreign ministers, it is an informal meal. In informal places we also meet people from the G/K side, either the G/K leader or their foreign ministers. Sometimes they come and try to approach us. When you see it, first of all, what is the human duty? To say hello to a man."
He went on to say that "it is obvious what was the response of our President to the request for a meeting there. It was also shared by our President with the media. After all, this is an informal transatlantic lunch. It is a continuation of this lunch that took place in New York at the leaders' level. Besides, although it is on the sidelines of the Summit, it is not a lunch at the venue of the Summit and on the Summit programme and it is an informal lunch given by the host."
"We are not a country that is running away because there is the Greek sector today and someone else tomorrow at an informal dinner given by the host."
"We are not a country that is running away because there is the Greek sector today and someone else tomorrow at an informal dinner given by the host. There is no reason to run. That doesn't mean we recognize them. When our President meets Anastasiades on the sidelines of the UN, they chat. Whenever I meet their Foreign Minister, we also chat, wherever they are. Besides, even if we have differences of opinion and problems, it doesn't mean that we never talk to them and never greet them. You don't have to take it anywhere else. Our president gave the best answer," Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
Source: KYPE
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