“The statement was indeed news, this is a very serious statement. [It] is in discord with the previous [statements] in general and with our understanding of the situation,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.
“We hope that in the near future there will be explanations on this from our Turkish partners,” he said, adding that Russia is the only country whose armed forces are in Syria on a legitimate basis – at the direct request of the Syrian authorities.
Answering a question as to whether Erdogan’s comments would affect the relations between Moscow and Ankara, Peskov stressed that Turkey is Moscow’s partner and therefore will have to explain its stance before the Russian authorities make any judgments.
Erdogan advisor suggests annexation of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus
Turkish journalist and senior advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Yigit Bulut, has suggested that Turkey annexes the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus.
Speaking on A Haber news channel on November 20, Bulut argued that Britain was attempting to control the northern part of Cyprus. His comments came two days before talks on the ethnically split island’s reunification collapsed at a Swiss resort.
Erdogan Criticizes Lausanne Treaty: ‘We Gave Away the Greek Islands’
The Treaty of Lausanne signed on July 24, 1923, has been criticized by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for limiting the rump state envisioned by the Treaty of Sevres and creating the current borders of Turkey. Erdogan said that some have tried to pass off the peace treaty as a victory, as it essentially settled conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied States of Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece and Romania after World War I.
Τurkey threatens Greece and EU with new wave of refugees
With relations with Europe rapidly deteriorating, Turkey is threatening to send upwards of 3,000 refugees per day to Greece in what intelligence officials in Greece described as “blackmail” against the European Union.
According to details uncovered by Greek intelligence officials and published in The Times (of London), thousands of dinghies and motorboatswere massing along Turkey’s western coast, waiting for Turkish authorities to loosen the restriction of movement that’s been in place since a deal was struck with the EU last year.
