Turkey criticizes Greece over treatment of its ‘Turkish’ minority

Ankara accused Athens on Tuesday of violating the rights of its Muslim minority, which it calls “Turkish,” and of pursuing policies against Turkey, saying Athens should instead “abide by international law.”

In a statement issued after a three-hour meeting of Turkey’s National Security Council in Ankara, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the council said it “had examined Greece’s human rights violations against the Turkish minority, as well as its inhumane treatment of refugees.”

It also said that “despite our calls for dialogue, Greece has entered the process of increasing its policies against Turkey. It does not respect international law and we call on it to take the necessary steps for good neighborly relations.”

On the issue of Cyprus, the security council underlined the indispensable need for a permanent and fair resolution based on two independent states to be put on the agenda, adding that the present nearly-half-a-century-old approach that ignored the existence of Turkish Cypriots on the island had been fruitless.

*Source: Ekathimerini