Turkey slams Greek Archbishop’s ‘presumptuous’ Islam comment ahead of exploratory talks

Turkey condemned on Monday the comments made by Greece's top cleric about Islam, describing them as "presumptuous" and noting that they undermine efforts to restart the exploratory bilateral talks on maritime sovereignty which are scheduled to start later in January.

"We strongly condemn the presumptuous statements of Ieronymos, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, against Islam during a television interview," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Monday. "These provocative expressions of Archbishop Ieronymos, which incite the society to hostility and violence against Islam, also show the frightening level Islamophobia has reached."

"The fact that such a statement was made at a time when preliminary preparations are being made for exploratory talks is also meaningful and is an unfortunate step towards undermining the process," the ministry added.