Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik criticised Greece for pursuing alliances involving Israel and said the Greek Cypriot administration’s cooperation with Israel was a “shameful alliance.”
Comments on Greece-Turkey relations
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday night, Celik said Greece had the opportunity to resolve issues with Turkey through negotiations, and questioned what Greece gained by pursuing alliances “with Israel and others” and escalating what he described as anti-Turkey rhetoric.
He said the Turkish government had told Greece to prevent “third countries and third parties” from interfering and to allow Turkey and Greece to build the capacity to resolve problems through “clear, transparent negotiations.”
Celik said Greece instead resorted to “detours,” adding that it was important “not to leave the main road.”
Remarks on Cyprus and Israel
Celik said “of course, the alliance that the Greek Cypriot administration has formed with Israel is a shameful alliance.”
He said that “standing alongside a Zionist network which has committed so many massacres is their own business,” and added that, in his view, they were “not on the right side of history in terms of international issues.”
Reference to France and potential troop deployment
Celik also referred to France, which looks set to sign a status of forces agreement with the Republic of Cyprus and to station its troops on the island later this year.
He said France’s assessments and actions from the Sahel to the Mediterranean had been flawed in recent years, and added that it would be in everyone’s best interest for France to abandon such approaches and to address its alliance with Turkey on a realistic basis.
Netanyahu’s “hexagon of alliances”
The comments came amid references by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February to what he described as a “hexagon of alliances” for Israel, which included Cyprus.
Netanyahu said Israel would create “a kind of hexagon of alliances” around or within the Middle East, including India, Arab national and African nations, Mediterranean nations including Greece and Cyprus, and other Asian nations.
What impact do you think these statements could have on negotiations between Turkey and Greece?