Erdogan’s government partner Bahceli provokes using the Dodecanese – Revisionist perceptions are unacceptable, the Greek Foreign Ministry responds
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Bahceli characterizes the arming of the islands as a provocation, Greece does not renounce its natural and legal right to defense, let alone at a time when it is threatened with war, the Foreign Ministry responds
Athens' reaction, and indeed in a strict tone, was provoked by the provocative statements of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government partner and head of the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, regarding the Dodecanese.
More specifically, Bahçeli, speaking at a meeting of his party, argued that the Dodecanese had been usurped, that the arming of the islands by Greece was a challenge, and that Turkey living “without the Dodecanese is a dream.”
“It is foolish to believe that the problems will end if we ignore them. If the sleeves have been rolled up to solve a problem, the resulting result will trigger a revealing solution of conscience. Turkey is a very strong state. It has the courage and resilience to make a decisive decision on every problem heading and to intervene within its historical borders,” Bahçeli said.
“The finished political representatives,” says Bahçeli
He argued that “what the finished political representatives say is of no importance. We have intensified the fortification against the scenarios of dark imperialism, which are accumulating around us”.
According to Erdogan’s government partner “we cannot think of the Dodecanese without Turkey. Arming them with a plan constitutes a challenge for Turkey and drags the Aegean into a vortex of tensions. The Dodecanese have been usurped and taken by foul play. For Turkey to live without the Dodecanese is a dream. Following an aggressive policy on the opposite shore of the Aegean does not benefit any country. Turkey will never abandon the Blue Homeland”.
“Athens should watch its steps”
He warned Athens “to watch its steps”. To add that “the results of Greece’s actions will be burdensome. There are no permanent friendships or enmities between states. Nor have there been any up to now. We are entering a period in the world where one crisis ends and another begins. Our domestic front must be balanced.”
Foreign Ministry: Sovereignty issues are out of the question
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Bahçeli’s challenge by underlining that “the status of the Dodecanese is governed by an international treaty, the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947.”
The statement also emphasizes that “Greece, as a sovereign state, does not waive its natural and legal right to defense, as provided for in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. All the more so, at a time when it is threatened with war (casus belli) in the event that it exercises a right deriving from its sovereignty, as provided for in International Law.”
In conclusion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveys to Ankara that "preserving peace requires prudence and responsibility, not hostile statements. Issues of sovereignty are out of the question and revisionist perceptions are universally rejected."
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