RT.com
24 May 2022, 16:13 GMT+10
Turkey's president accuses fellow NATO member state's leader of lobbying against Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out against the Greek prime minister, saying Kyriakos Mitsotakis "no longer exists for me" as he prefers to deal with honorable politicians "who keep their promises."
"There's no longer anyone called Mitsotakis in my book," Erdogan said in a televised address on Monday, as cited by AP. "This year we were supposed to have a strategic council meeting... I will never accept having such a meeting with him because we walk on the same path as politicians who keep their promises, who have character and who are honorable."
Erdogan accused Mitsotakis of sabotaging efforts to resolve long-running territorial and disputes through bilateral talks, and breaking a promise to not involve third countries. Erdogan said that the Greek premier essentially told the US government "don't you dare give Turkey the F-16s," when he lobbied against its regional rival's attempts to upgrade its air force on a visit to Washington last week.
Addressing US lawmakers last Monday, Mitsotakis claimed that the "last thing that NATO needs at a time when our focus is helping defeat Russian aggression is another source of instability on NATO's southeastern flank."
Turkey had previously been slapped with sanctions and excluded from the US F-35 program after purchasing S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, despite Washington's warnings not to do so. Since then, Ankara has been stuck with an aging F-16 fleet it now hopes to upgrade and supplement with new aircraft.
Greece has expressed concern over Turkey's plans to upgrade its fighter jet fleet, accusing Ankara of endangering security in the eastern Mediterranean. Greece and Turkey have repeatedly accused each other of airspace violations in recent years.
Ankara has lobbied for readmission to the F-35 program, while threatening to unilaterally block the inclusion of Finland and Sweden into NATO amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Mediterranean Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Mediterranean Times.
More InformationBRUSSELS, Belgium - Some Ryanair cabin crew went on strike Friday in Belgium, Spain, and Portugal over pay and working ...
LONDON, England: Surging food prices in the UK pushed consumer price inflation to 9.1 percent last month, a 40-year record ...
LONDON, England: Prices for British homes this month rose at the slowest rate since January, as the cost of living ...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Amidst Europe's response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent reduction of the deliveries of Russian gas, Germany, ...
NEW DELHI, India: The European Union and India have relaunched talks to implement a free trade agreement, aimed to be ...
LONDON, England: UK General Patrick Sanders, the new Chief of the General Staff, has told troops that Britain must be ...
MOSCOW, Russia: The UK newspaper, the Telegraph, has been blocked in Russia, following a request from the Russian prosecutor-general.The TASS ...
LAHORE, Pakistan - An Airbus 320 carrying 171 passengers narrowly avoided an accident at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Pakistan's second-largest ...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday vowed to "do all in my power" to protect a woman's ...
YANGON, Myanmar - According to military-run media, a junta delegation discussed nuclear technology collaboration with a Russian state-owned atomic energy ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing more than Tk2.3 crore in emergency funding ...
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian villagers on the Mekong River have caught a stingray fish weighing 661 pounds, which is the ...