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Turkey’s president accuses fellow NATO member state’s chief of lobbying in opposition to Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out in opposition to the Greek prime minister, saying Kyriakos Mitsotakis “now not exists for me” as he prefers to cope with honorable politicians “who preserve their guarantees.”
“There is no longer anybody referred to as Mitsotakis in my e-book,” Erdogan stated in a televised tackle on Monday, as cited by AP. “This 12 months we have been purported to have a strategic council assembly… I’ll by no means settle for having such a gathering with him as a result of we stroll on the identical path as politicians who preserve their guarantees, who’ve character and who’re honorable.”
Erdogan accused Mitsotakis of sabotaging efforts to resolve long-running territorial and disputes by bilateral talks, and breaking a promise to not contain third international locations. Erdogan stated that the Greek premier basically instructed the US authorities “do not you dare give Turkey the F-16s,” when he lobbied in opposition to its regional rival’s makes an attempt to improve its air power on a go to to Washington final week.
Addressing US lawmakers final Monday, Mitsotakis claimed that the “very last thing that NATO wants at a time when our focus helps defeat Russian aggression is one other supply of instability on NATO’s southeastern flank.”
Turkey had beforehand been slapped with sanctions and excluded from the US F-35 program after buying S-400 missile protection methods from Russia, regardless of Washington’s warnings not to take action. Since then, Ankara has been caught with an ageing F-16 fleet it now hopes to improve and complement with new plane.
Greece has expressed concern over Turkey’s plans to improve its fighter jet fleet, accusing Ankara of endangering safety within the japanese Mediterranean. Greece and Turkey have repeatedly accused one another of airspace violations lately.
Ankara has lobbied for readmission to the F-35 program, whereas threatening to unilaterally block the inclusion of Finland and Sweden into NATO amid the continuing battle between Russia and Ukraine.
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