Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that they are in favor of dialogue in relations between Türkiye and Greece, but that this should not be perceived as a weakness.
"At NATO, we said that we guarantee that we do not harass the Greeks in the air or at sea. We respect the borders and sovereignty rights of all our neighbors. When we say 'dialogue, friendship', it seems like a weakness. There is no such thing," Akar stressed.
Akar met with journalists after the military exercise held in Polatlı. The presence of the Greek military attaché among those who watched the exercise was a remarkable detail of the day. Akar made a statement on Greece's policy of tension, the F-16 talks with the United States, the U.S. military presence in Alexandroupoli (Dedeağaç), and the fight against terrorism.
The minister provided information to journalists about the talks between Türkiye and Greece regarding the recent tension.
"We will continue our policy under the leadership of our president. We will protect our rights. Our military delegation went to Greece twice, they came to Ankara once. Now we are awaiting the Greek delegation to Türkiye for the fourth meeting. When we say, 'Let's continue these meetings,' some say, 'Let the Turks come to dialogue.' In fact, we are the ones who want the dialogue," Akar said.
"At the last NATO meeting in Brussels, I invited Greek Defense Minister Panagiotopoulos to Türkiye with his wife. We are trying to create a positive atmosphere, but it seems that there are people who are uncomfortable with it. We consider that the Turkish-Greek problems can be solved, even if they cannot be solved, they can be kept under control, and we should solve and manage them without harming our countries, the region and NATO. Also, we handed over to Secretary General Stoltenberg the documents regarding the harassment and violations of Greece. We said, 'We guarantee that we do not harass them in the air or at sea, without the Greeks committing any harassment or infringement,'" he added.
American presence in Alexandroupoli
The presence of the U.S. in Alexandroupoli was among the important issues Akar touched upon.
"We have a Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement signed with the Americans in 1980. In 1990 the Greeks made a similar agreement and renewed it in 2020. They are increasing the number of exponents from 5 to 9. Alexandroupoli is one of them. The Americans state that they will establish a 'Logistics Center' here and that it is against Russia. They also say that they will build an LNG (liquefied natural gas) depot here to reduce dependence on Russian gas, and from there they can supply gas to Europe. Defense and security are matters of precaution and follow-up. So we are monitoring the developments closely," he said.
Successful operations of TSK
Another question asked of Akar was about the recent successful military operations of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to catch PKK terrorists.
"The Turkish Armed Forces inflicted great damage on the terrorist group PKK. In the fight against terrorism, Zap has been a place that has not been entered for many years. The terrorists could not even imagine that we would enter. When the TSK entered there, the ringleaders fled within a week. In very difficult geography, Turkish soldiers are clearing it with great success," Akar said.
"In Operation Claw-Lock in Zap, 417 terrorists have been eliminated since April. More than 500 caves and bunkers have been cleared. Since July 24, 2015, 36,412 terrorists have been eliminated. As of January this year, 3,143 terrorists have been eliminated in northern Iraq and Syria," he emphasized.
Russia-Ukraine War
Hulusi Akar also made statements about the Russia-Ukraine war and said, "President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in front of the press, 'We do not recognize the annexation of Crimea.' We have also made it clear that we are against the annexation of the last four regions. Türkiye's stance on the issue between Russia and Ukraine is very important. In fact, almost all countries thanked Türkiye for the grain corridor and prisoner exchange."
Nordic NATO bids
In addition, Hulusi Akar also reiterated the condition of combating terrorism regarding the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland.
"We support NATO's open door policy. Our request is very simple. Not allowing terrorists and lifting the export restrictions imposed on us. We are waiting for what is written in the memorandum we signed in Madrid to be implemented. They say, 'We will do what we have to do.' We are also waiting for concrete steps," Akar said.