Tweets from Erdogan in Greek, and the response from Tsipras in Turkish highlight the equal distance and closeness between Turkey and Greece
Jun 10, 2022
The President of the Turkish republic, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sent a threat in Greek via Twitter, and Alexis Tsipras the leader of Greece’s socialist opposition party Syriza – and former Greek prime minister – responded with a tweet in Turkish.
“We warn Greece, once again, to be prudent, to keep away from ‘ideas’, rhetoric and actions that will lead it to outcomes it will regret, as happened a century ago” Mr Erdogan tweeted.
He warned that Turkey will not give up its rights in the Aegean and will “not hesitate enact rights recognised by international agreements on the demilitarization of the islands.”
“We calmly faced the challenges of Greece, which for the last two years has not even responded to our invitations for a meeting of military delegations,” Mr Erdogan wrote.
In a following tweet Mr Edogan accused Greece of oppressing the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, Rhodes, and Kos. And wrote that Greece is ignoring the values of the Union, “human rights worldwide and international agreements.”
“The attempt to manipulate NATO and third countries, involving them in the illegality of various military exercises on islands with a non-militarized regime, is not just an attempt that will have a catastrophic end,” Mr. Erdogan tweeted in Greek.
The president was on a roll, and sent a further tweet in Greek in which he said that Greece is “claiming 40,000 km2 of maritime jurisdiction for Megisti, which is in the Eastern Mediterranean and is less than 2 km away from the mainland of our country, while more than 600 km from mainland Greece, we leave to the discretion of the international community.”
Mr Tsipras, the leader of the socialist opposition Syriza, responded in Turkish.
The answer to the economic crisis, which we all face together, is not nationalism, the president of SYRIZA states in his message
In a message in Greek and Turkish, SYRIZA President Alexis Tsipras commented on the provocative and threatening messages of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Greek.
“Greece will protect its sovereignty against any threat. So let the challenges stop and let us return to dialogue based on international law.
The answer to the economic crisis we all face together is not nationalism.” Tsipras tweeted in Turkish.
Yunanistan egemenliğini her türlü tehdide karşı koruyacaktır.
O halde kışkırtmalara son verelim ve uluslararası hukuk temelinde diyaloğa geri dönelim.
Hepimizin karşı karşıya olduğu ekonomik krize cevap aşırı milliyetçilik değildir.— Αλέξης Τσίπρας – Alexis Tsipras (@atsipras) June 9, 2022
Η Ελλάδα θα προστατέψει την κυριαρχία της απέναντι σε οποιαδήποτε απειλή.
Ας σταματήσουν λοιπόν οι προκλήσεις και ας επιστρέψουμε στον διάλογο στη βάση του διεθνούς δικαίου.
Η απάντηση στην οικονομική κρίση, που αντιμετωπίζουμε όλοι μαζί, δεν είναι ο εθνικισμός.— Αλέξης Τσίπρας – Alexis Tsipras (@atsipras) June 9, 2022
Mr Tsipras in March said that instability caused by the Ukraine crisis is an additional reason for Greece to demand substantial dialogue with Turkey to de-escalate tensions in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean seas.
He then criticised the New Democracy government and said “the door of dialogue with Turkey should be left open.”
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