Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan commented on the conflict situation between Ankara and Athens, which arose due to drilling operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. He is quoted by TRT World on Twitter.
The Turkish leader stressed that from the very beginning of the conflict, Ankara insisted on a diplomatic settlement and behaved with dignity, unlike the other side. He criticized the intervention of European countries and described its policies as “a policy of double standards.” In particular, Erdogan is dissatisfied with the actions of France.
“[French President Emmanuel] Macron, your time is up … You are not in the position to dictate your rules of humanism to us,” the Turkish president said. In this regard, he rebuked his French colleague for ignorance of history: as an example, Erdogan cited the colonial policy of France, which, according to him, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
In August, a Turkish submarine was found in the territorial waters of Greece. Prior to that, France transferred military equipment to the Mediterranean to support the Greek side.
The contradictions over the coast in the Eastern Mediterranean arose in 1974 – then a coup d'etat took place in Cyprus, associated with an attempt by Greece to annex the island. Turkey sent troops to the north of Cyprus and proclaimed a Turkish Cypriot federal state there, later it was renamed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The rest of the island is now under the control of the government of the Republic of Cyprus. Turkey has repeatedly called for joint development of deposits by Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, allowing for cooperation with Russia.
