Erdogan: Greece became an American base

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Turkey is the source of the problem in the refugee crisis, as well as ongoing US military supplies to Alexandroupolis, according to the authors of the Turkish Anadolu.

During a joint press conference with the Hungarian Prime Minister, the Turkish President, in addition to issues related to bilateral relations, refugees and the Turkic Council, touched upon the events taking place in Alexandroupolis. Erdogan said that one glance at the map is enough to understand what the Americans have done to Greece.

President Erdogan, commenting on the creation of the US base in Alexandroupolis, said: “Greece itself has already become an American base.”

The Turkish leader also said that Turkey and Hungary are aiming at increasing bilateral trade to $ 6 billion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a joint press conference following the face-to-face meeting and the fifth meeting of the Turkey-Hungary High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

The Turkish head of state said he was happy to receive Hungarian Prime Minister Orban and his delegation in Ankara.

Erdogan noted that today, on November 11, the fifth meeting of the Turkey-Hungary High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, created in 2013 in friendly and allied Hungary, was held, the parties comprehensively discussed relations between the two countries. Erdogan stressed that the leaders had the opportunity to consider issues in detail both at bilateral talks and at a meeting between delegations.

An exchange of views took place on international and regional issues, the Turkish leader stated.

“Our economic and trade relations are improving day by day,” the president continued. – The current figures show that our turnover at the end of the year, according to our data, amounted to three billion dollars, and according to my dear friend – four billion. At the same time, we are striving to continue this path and at the first stage to increase bilateral trade up to six billion dollars. Today we discussed in detail with the Prime Minister what joint steps we can take to achieve this goal. We are pleased with the growing interest of our investors in Hungary. In this country, where about 500 of our companies operate, Turkish economic assets amount to about $ 700 million. We expect that this figure, with current and planned investments, will rise to $ 3 billion. I believe that with the support of my dear friend and the Hungarian authorities, we will even surpass these goals. For our part, we will continue to provide all the necessary support to Hungarian investors, our business circles are expanding cooperation in third countries. “

“In 2024 we will celebrate the Year of Culture of Turkey and Hungary”

The Turkish President stressed that Turkish and Hungarian entrepreneurs value joint investments in the African continent. The two countries as NATO allies have great potential for cooperation in the defense industry, Erdogan said.

Further, the head of state continued: “In 2024, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the entry into force of the treaty of friendship between our countries, we will celebrate the Year of Culture of Turkey and Hungary. The activities that we will conduct in this context will contribute to the better promotion of our common history and culture. The meeting of our council also served as an occasion for the return to Turkey of 101 historical artifacts confiscated in Hungary in 2016. In this regard, on my own behalf and on behalf of our people, I would like to thank the Hungarian authorities, in the person of Mr. Prime Minister, for their sensitivity and close cooperation. This step showed the whole world that, if there is desire and determination, an effective fight against the smuggling of cultural property is possible. I hope that the willingness to cooperate on the part of our Hungarian friends will become an example for other countries. “

“We attach great importance to the meeting as a nation”

Erdogan recalled that Orban will also take part in the Turkic Council summit to be held in Istanbul on November 12. Hungary has been an observer member of the Turkic Council since 2018 and hosts the Council’s representation in Europe on its territory, the president added.

Erdogan further said: “We are determined to further promote our cooperation and solidarity with our strategic partner Hungary in the Turkic Council, as well as on other regional and international platforms. The meeting of the council will be the first international meeting that we will hold on our beautiful island, formerly known as “Yassiada” and now called “The Island of Democracy and Freedoms”, which we have redeveloped from A to Z. great importance of meeting as a nation. We consider it a special reason to be proud to start this event with the current meeting of the council. The participation of our strategic partner Hungary gives us special strength. “

Thanking Prime Minister Orban and Hungary for the continued provision of the necessary support to Turkey, especially in relations with the European Union (EU), Erdogan added: “I always note and will continue to note their strong support for our membership. I hope that the contribution they make to the understanding of our views within the Union will continue and grow stronger. “

Wishing that the meeting of the council yielded fruitful results, Erdogan thanked the ministers of the two countries for the fact that their joint work resulted in nine agreements.

At a press conference, journalists asked Erdogan to comment on the statement by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that Turkey is the source of the problem in the refugee crisis, as well as the ongoing US military supplies to Alexandroupolis. “First of all, it is truly ingratitude to claim that the refugee crisis is caused by Turkey,” the Turkish leader replied.

Noting that Turkey receives about five million refugees, Erdogan said: “Of these, almost four million are from Syria alone … There is Iraq, Afghanistan, and so on … To say to a country that receives almost five million refugees serves as a home for them:“ The refugee problem is happening because of you “- ingratitude.”

“You can deceive the world, but you cannot deceive Turkey.”

“I don’t know what Greece will do if we open the borders,” President Erdogan said. – First of all, Greece is the country that pierced boats with refugees in the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea and doomed them to death. These boats, including those with women and children, were pierced, overturned, sunk by Greece, its coast guard, which is only called “protection”, dooming these people to death. What I’m talking about? Unfortunately, Mitsotakis and his associates lie, behave dishonestly and therefore do not inspire confidence in the region. At the moment, we still have all the evidence, there are videos of how they buried these refugees, these legal and illegal migrants in the waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea. You can deceive the world, but you cannot deceive Turkey. “

“The number of American bases cannot be counted”

Speaking about the events in Alexandroupolis, President Erdogan said: “In fact, not only Alexandroupolis, Greece itself has already become a kind of American base. At the moment, the number of American bases in Greece cannot be counted. There are so many of them that Greece itself is almost like an American base. Here’s a picture. And it can be seen on the map. “

“Alexandroupolis is only a small part of them,” Erdogan added. – Why, why is all this being done now? Of course, when our defense minister, foreign minister in talks with Biden and other relevant persons ask about this, our opponents give evasive answers and behave dishonestly. They made the wrong choice, and the position they take with Greece in the Aegean is wrong. Imagine, we are a NATO country, America is a NATO member, Greece is a NATO member. But why are we NATO members attacking each other when America is the most supportive? Turkey among NATO members is in the first seven countries after America both in terms of the number of military personnel and in terms of financial support, while Greece is not, Greece is much lower. But we believe in ourselves, count on ourselves, we are the insurance guarantee of this region. “

Translation Inosmi

This material contains estimates solely the opinion of the publication Anadolu and do not reflect the position of the editorial board of “Russian Athens”.

PS There is an opinion of well-informed experts who consider the conflict situation between Greece and Turkey to be an element of the game on the part of the US military-industrial complex and France, which together “lit” Greece for the purchase of weapons in the amount of more than 5 billion euros, in the last 2 years alone. Indeed, despite all the scandalous statements and muscle flexing on both sides, Turkey is a loyal member of NATO and on its territory there are military bases of the United States, as well as other countries of the bloc. And the only real conflict of interest that has arisen recently between Turkey and the United States is the issue of purchasing the S-400 system from Russia.

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