Erdogan Backs Cavusoglu In Squabble With Dendias Over 'Turkish Minority' In Greece

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday expressed his support for Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the latter's squabble with Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, saying Cavusoglu "showed the Greek minister his place."

ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday expressed his support for Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the latter's squabble with Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, saying Cavusoglu "showed the Greek minister his place."

The Turkish leader was referring to the incident that took place at a joint press conference following the ministers' meeting in Ankara on Thursday. During his address, Dendias corrected Cavusoglu, saying that there is no Turkish minority in Greece, but only the Muslim one. The remark was slammed by the Turkish minister as inhumane. However, the squabble did not seem to darken the general mood of Dendias,'s visit the two ministers went to dinner after the press conference, laughing.

"Our minister showed the Greek minister his place, he could not say otherwise. Let us not invite a third party the EU, others into our relations with Greece. We will solve our issues ourselves. You [Greeks] do not treat our 150,000 compatriots in the right way, do not allow them to appoint imams, Greece appoints the chief mufti as its own religious servant," Erdogan told reporters.

Ankara, in turn, demonstrates a different attitude towards the Greek minority in Turkey, whose representatives have Turkish citizenship and have the right to choose their own clergy, the president added.

The two nations have traditionally antagonistic relations, which have recently been further aggravated by Ankara's research missions in waters that Greece considers its exclusive economic zone. The row has led to the Greek military being put on high alert.