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Turkish president's border comments draw rebuke from Greek hosts Confrontational Erdoğan stuns Greek hosts on Athens visit
(about 3 hours later)
A landmark treaty delineating the borders between Greece and Turkey, regarded as a cornerstone of regional peace, should be radically revised, according to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. What had been billed a groundbreaking visit to Greece, the first by a Turkish president in 65 years, turned into a verbal theatre of war as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, flouting the niceties of diplomacy, crossed an array of red lines.
The comments by the notoriously confrontational politician, who rarely travels to Europe, came on the eve of a historic visit to Greece that many had hoped would put fraught bilateral relations on a new footing. Disputes that had lain dormant – not least the 1923 Lausanne treaty delineating the borders between the two nations – were prised open with brutal force on Thursday by Erdoğan on the first day of a historic visit dominated by the leader’s unpredictability.
Instead, Erdoğan’s words drew sharp rebukes from Greece’s president and head of state, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, and prime minister, Alexis Tsipras. Within an hour of stepping off his plane, the pugilistic politician was sparring with the Greek head of state, Prokopis Pavlopoulos. Athens, he said imperiously, would never have entered Nato had it not been for Ankara’s support. As an ally it should seek to improve the religious rights of the Muslim minority in Thrace which were enshrined in the Lausanne treaty, he insisted, sitting stony-faced in the inner sanctum of the presidential palace. “It needs to be modernised,” he said of the accord that has long governed Greek-Turkish relations and is seen as a cornerstone of regional peace.
“The Treaty of Lausanne defines the territory and the sovereignty of Greece, and of the European Union, and this treaty is non-negotiable,” Pavlopoulos said as Erdoğan sat stony-faced next to him, surrounded by Greek and Turkish officials. “It has no flaws, it does not need to be reviewed, or updated.” A visibly stunned Pavlopoulos hit back, calling the treaty non-negotiable.
The row appeared to intensify when Erdoğan insisted that Athens would not have been able to join Nato had it not been for the support of the Turkish government. “The Treaty of Lausanne defines the territory and the sovereignty of Greece, and of the European Union, and this treaty is non-negotiable. It has no flaws, it does not need to be reviewed, or updated.”
Attempting to ameliorate the frosty atmosphere, Tsipras told his guest in subsequent talks that respect for international law was the basis of solid ties between the two neighbours. With tensions running high between the two long-time Nato rivals and neighbours, Athens had hoped the 48-hour sojourn would put fraught bilateral relations on a new footing. International condemnation of Erdoğan’s crackdown on democratic institutions following a foiled coup against him last year has strained relations with Europe and the US and has meant that the Turkish leader has made fewer trips to the west. Greek officials thought he would use the visit to strike a conciliatory note. The red carpet was duly rolled out with military bands and Greece’s ornately dressed presidential guard doing the honours.
In what will be remembered as one of the biggest security operations in living memory – with 2,800 police deployed around the capital, snipers posted on roof tops, and commandos, sniffer dogs, bomb disposal experts and bodyguards drafted in – the visit brought Athens to a standstill.
But the 63-year-old Turkish leader, while thanking his hosts for the welcome, continued to ratchet up the rhetoric.
In subsequent talks with the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, he chastised the Greeks for failing to look after Ottoman sites and provide a proper place of worship for Muslims. Cyprus, he argued, had not been reunified because Greek Cypriots kept turning down a “just and sustainable” settlement. He also attacked the “economic chasm” between Greeks, who earned on average €15,000 a year, and the Turkish-speaking Muslim minority in northern Thrace who earned around €2,200 a year.
Athens, he continued, should also return the eight Turkish officers who had escaped to Greece as the coup unfolded even if the country’s judicial system had blocked their repatriation on the grounds that they would not be given a fair trial. “It is possible to return them to Turkey which is a country that has abolished the death penalty and is not a country of torture,” he told a press conference in the prime minister’s office.
Looking on in dismay – Greek ministers exchanging knowing smiles around him – Tsipras repeated that as the birthplace of democracy, where executive power was separate from the law, Greece respected decisions made by the country’s justice system.
Earlier, the 43-year-old had attempted to ameliorate the frosty atmosphere, telling his guest that respect for international law was the basis of solid ties between the two neighbours.
“Differences have always existed and [they exist] today,” the leftist leader said. “It is important … that we express our disagreements in a constructive way, without being provocative.”“Differences have always existed and [they exist] today,” the leftist leader said. “It is important … that we express our disagreements in a constructive way, without being provocative.”
Despite the altercation, Erdoğan was given red-carpet treatment from the moment he stepped off his plane at the start of the first official trip a Turkish head of state has made to Greece, both a rival and Nato ally, in 65 years. Two thousand eight hundred police officers have been deployed around the capital as apart of a US presidential-level security operation to guard Erdoğan. The visit follows the arrests in Athens of nine Turkish nationals charged this week with being members of DHKP-C, a militant Marxist group that has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Turkey.
Elite special force units, including 200 commandos and bomb disposal specialists, have been seconded to a surveillance operation in which snipers will be posted on buildings along routes passed by the Turkish leader’s cavalcade.
“We are taking every precaution,” the Greek public order minister, Nikos Toskas, told the Guardian. “The security will be on a level similar to that of Barack Obama’s visit. Every detail has been covered and planned.”
The visit follows the arrests in Athens of nine Turkish nationals charged this week with being members of DHKP-C, a militant Marxist group that has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Turkey. Toskas denied that the reinforced security was related, but it has not been ruled out that the suspected terrorists were planning an attack on the Turkish presidential visit.
Erdoğan, whose relations with Europe and the US have become strained amid growing condemnation of his crackdown on democratic institutions, has made few trips to the west since a foiled coup attempt against him last year and he has become increasingly isolated internationally.
“The visit comes at an especially delicate time, diplomatically, given mounting criticism of his crackdown on perceived and real participants in the coup and other domestic opponents,” said Hubert Faustmann, professor of history and political science at the University of Cyprus.“The visit comes at an especially delicate time, diplomatically, given mounting criticism of his crackdown on perceived and real participants in the coup and other domestic opponents,” said Hubert Faustmann, professor of history and political science at the University of Cyprus.
Relations between Turkey and Greece have long been strained. Hostility can be traced back to the subjugation of Greeks under Ottoman rule before a bloody war of independence initiated in 1821 led to the creation of the modern Greek state in 1830.Relations between Turkey and Greece have long been strained. Hostility can be traced back to the subjugation of Greeks under Ottoman rule before a bloody war of independence initiated in 1821 led to the creation of the modern Greek state in 1830.
Successive conflicts followed, most notably in 1922 when the Greek army suffered a disastrous defeat in Asia Minor, prompting a massive exchange of populations – widely seen as the first experiment in ethnic cleansing – and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.Successive conflicts followed, most notably in 1922 when the Greek army suffered a disastrous defeat in Asia Minor, prompting a massive exchange of populations – widely seen as the first experiment in ethnic cleansing – and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.
The two countries came close to war again in 1996 over a group of uninhabited isles in the Aegean Sea. Most recently, tensions have resurfaced over Greece’s frontier role in the refugee crisis, failed talks to reunify Cyprus and, according to officials in Athens, Turkey’s repeated violations of Greek air and naval space in the Aegean. The two countries came close to war again in 1996 over a pair of uninhabited isles in the Aegean Sea. Most recently, tensions have resurfaced over Greece’s frontier role in the refugee crisis, failed talks to reunify Cyprus and, according to officials in Athens, Turkey’s repeated violations of Greek air and naval space in the Aegean.
The defence ministry claims more than 3,000 airspace violations have occurred this year, more than at any other time since 2003. Erdoğan’s open questioning of the peace treaty that forged the boundaries of the two states in 1923 has exacerbated friction even further.The defence ministry claims more than 3,000 airspace violations have occurred this year, more than at any other time since 2003. Erdoğan’s open questioning of the peace treaty that forged the boundaries of the two states in 1923 has exacerbated friction even further.
The Greeks are also acutely aware that geography means they must coexist with Turkey and stand to benefit most if Ankara remains anchored to Europe.The Greeks are also acutely aware that geography means they must coexist with Turkey and stand to benefit most if Ankara remains anchored to Europe.
Tsipras hopes the visit will be as groundbreaking in substance as it is in optics. “What we anticipate is a substantive upgrade of our relationship with Turkey … We expect very constructive talks,” said the Greek government spokesman, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos. Aegean Sea tensions, the refugee crisis, economic relations, trade and transport would top the agenda, he said.
Officials in Turkey have also signalled they will raise the fallout from the coup, including the cases of eight Turkish military officers who flew into Greece by helicopter to evade arrest as the putsch unfolded. Greek courts have rejected pleas for the commandos’ repatriation, arguing they would not be given a fair trial if they were to return.
“Erdoğan is isolated and the government is clearly accommodating him in the hope that he will stop his verbal explosions and start behaving less irrationally towards Greece,” said MP Harry Theocharis, who sits in parliament as an independent. “And that is far from sure.”