Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar accused Greece on Monday of undermining talks on confidence-building measures (CBM) between the two Aegean countries, Ekathimerini has reported.
During a visit to TCG Anadoly, the future flagship of the Turkish navy, Akar said Greece is trying to deliberately increase tensions with Turkey in a bid to deflect public attention from problems at home.
“There are many scandals in Greece right now. There is the wiretapping scandal, migration scandal, and corruption,” he said, according to Anadolu.
The Turkish Defence Minister also said Turkey wants to diffuse tensions with Greece through dialogue.
“Not only does Greece not want to hold these talks, it also tries to prevent them from happening and sabotages them,” Akar said.
“Turkey is not a threat to anyone; [It] is a reliable, strong, and effective ally.”
Greece froze plans for a next round of CBM talks with Turkey in April last year following a barrage of Turkish overflights in the eastern Aegean.
Source: Ekathimerini.
