Some politicians and military officers in Greece are dreaming, they need to wake up, Turkish Defence Minister Houloussi Akar said. He argued that Turkey and Greece have 20 problems and that at least 3 or 5 can be solved by meetings between delegations of the two sides.
In statements to the Turkish daily Hurriyet, Houloussi Akar said "we are in favor of solving problems through dialogue within the framework of law and good neighborly relations," adding that "dialogue alone does not mean that it can solve the problems. But it is not possible to solve problems without dialogue."
He said they attach great importance to consultations, confidence-building measures and discussions to avoid escalation in NATO and maintained that Turkey is doing its best to continue.
The Turkish minister said that two MOU meetings were held in Athens and one in Ankara. "For two years we have been waiting for the Greek mission in Ankara for the fourth meeting to be held in Ankara. But they did not come," he said.
"In every meeting I invite my Greek counterpart in Turkey. Because good relations between ministers help to create a climate for solving problems. However, every time my counterpart postpones the invitation/visit for various reasons. This is the situation. I also told my Greek counterpart at the last NATO meeting that problems cannot be solved by one-to-one negotiations. I reiterated the invitation," he said.
Houloussi Akar maintained that Turkey is not a threat to any country. "We are not a country that ignores threats. Some politicians and some military people in Greece are dreaming as if they are asleep. Now they have to wake up. They should see the facts and act accordingly," he said."
"Despite all the absurd and illegal statements, we stressed that problems can be solved through dialogue in all our appeals. Do we have 20 problems? We stressed that at least 3 or 5 of them can be resolved in meetings between delegations, if not, they can be kept under control and managed in a way that does not harm the region and the alliance in NATO," the Turkish minister claimed.
He reiterated that "saying that we do not allow our rights to be violated is not a threat."
He reiterated that "saying that we do not allow our rights to be violated is not a threat. Dialogue is not weakness. Don't be encouraged by others. Step on the ground."
Source: CNA
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