Turkey urges Greece to avoid provocations, calls for common sense

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has repeated Turkey's bid to resolve all the existing problems with Greece through dialogue and diplomacy, urging his Greek counterpart to refrain from provocative moves and rhetoric.

In an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency, Akar slammed a recent statement by Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, who accused Turkey of breaching international law and of creating instability in the region at a panel he participated. Greek and Greek Cypriot officials are in efforts to draw attention to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Turkish Cyprus on July 20 with accusatory and provocative rhetoric.

"Greece is continuing its provocative, unlawful, uncompromising and escalating attitude which does not even abide by the agreements it signed," Akar stated, criticizing Panagiotopoulus for behaving against mutual efforts to defuse tension during the summer after a constructive meeting between Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in June.

"I invite my esteemed colleague to think and speak reasonably, logically, fairly and objectively, away from being selfish and emotional and within the framework of international law and good neighborly relations," Akar said.

The international law, dialogue and good neighborly relations construct Turkey's guidelines for the resolution of the problems, he recalled, blaming Greece for opposing Turkey's proposal for a combined training center at NATO although it was supported by the allies.

"Moreover, in order to justify these actions, Greece makes negative and provocative statements that are far from the truth," the minister said, adding it was Athens who was increasing tension in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean by arming the islands with...