Erdogan warns: Greece’s provocations are dangerous

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Greece against its provocations, which “constitute a dangerous game for it.”

This came in a speech to the people on Monday after presiding over a government meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

President Erdogan said that Turkey “is following with astonishment the policies of its neighbor Greece, which smells of provocation.”

“We will not relent, if necessary, in defending the rights and interests of our country against Greece by all available means,” he added.

And he added: “Neither the military build-up nor the political and economic support is enough to raise Greece to our level, but it is enough to drag it into a quagmire.”

President Erdoğan stated that “Greece’s provocations are a dangerous game for politicians, a country, a people, and for those who use them as a mount.”

He said, “Foreign military crowds with an occupier appearance spread throughout Greece should disturb the Greek people in particular, before Turkey.”

And he added, “We know very well that the real intention of those who incite Greek politicians against us is to obstruct our program to build a great and strong Turkey by wasting our country’s time, energy and distraction.”

The Turkish President indicated that it is useful to remind Greece of the heavy prices paid by the Greek people and their rulers a century ago when the invading Greek forces were defeated from Anatolia.

He pointed out that Turkey celebrated last August the centenary of those victories over the Greek forces.

President Erdoğan referred to Greece’s commemoration of events such as the Tripoli massacre in which children, women and the elderly were brutally murdered as a victory day and its quest to divert attention from the defeats of the Greek forces in front of Turkish soldiers.

He pointed out that the same mentality that governs Greece today is sinking refugee boats in the Mediterranean and the Aegean and leaving them to die.

He stressed that there will come a day when Greece will be held accountable for its deliberate killing of children and all its crimes against innocents.

Separately, President Erdoğan reported that more than 5 million tons of grain have been shipped from Ukraine to date under the Istanbul Agreement.

He added, “Continuing the diplomatic success achieved from opening the grain corridor to the prisoner exchange agreement is a source of pride for our country.”

He pointed out that Turkey has achieved many diplomatic successes from the grain corridor to the exchange of prisoners by continuing the dialogue with the two sides during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for their support for Turkey’s endeavors.

President Erdogan noted that Turkey’s goal is to end the war without further destruction and loss of life by bringing together Presidents Putin and Zelensky as soon as possible.