Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras condemned on Friday the racist remarks of an EU lawmaker affiliated with Greece's extremist far-right Golden Dawn party, who was ejected from the European Parliament plenary session on Wednesday, after describing Turks as "spiritual barbarians, impious, cheaters and dirty," according to a news report released by Doğan news agency.
The Greek PM made the comments in a press meeting held by the French Community Party (PCF) in Paris, to which many prominent politicians attended.Answering a question about the EU parliamentarian Synadinos's use of racist language against Turks, Tsipras reportedly said, "I think I do not even have to make a comment regarding this issue. I condemn these statements [of the EU parliamentarian Eleftherios Synadinos]."Synadinos made his controversial remarks during a debate that took place Wednesday morning at the plenary in Strasbourg, France, on a migration summit the EU held with Turkey earlier this week. Synadinos in Greek described Turks as "spiritual barbarians, impious, cheaters and dirty". Synadinos went on with his racist remarks and said "the fist and decisiveness" are the only way to handle Turks.
The Greek PM reportedly said in Friday's press meeting that he wanted everyone to know there were not many people of the same opinion as Synadinos. "There are not many people in Greece who think like this and they are not the decisive majority. The majority in Greece wants their doors to be opened to different cultures and nationalities," Tsipras reportedly said.
Following his controversial remarks on Wednesday, Synadinos left the plenary of his own accord after the EU Parliament President Martin Schulz dispatched ushers to accompany the lawmaker outside the debate.
Schulz said the unusual move was justified to maintain the "dignity of our house" and undercut efforts to make racism "socially acceptable."
The parliament president also quashed a protest by French far-right parliamentarian Bruno Gollnisch, telling him: "If you don't calm down, you will get a tranquilizer."
Related: Greek MEP thrown out of EU parliament over racist Turkey remarks