The provocative statements of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu during his private visit to Thrace provoked the immediate and harsh reaction of the Greek Foreign Ministry.
“Greece fully implements the obligations arising from the Treaty of Lausanne, which explicitly refers to the Muslim minority in Thrace,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexandros Papaioannou said in a statement.
The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the Muslim Minority in Thrace numbers about 12,000 Greek inhabitants and maintained that the continuous efforts of Turkey to distort this reality, as well as the claims alleging non-protection of the rights of these citizens, or discrimination treatment are unfounded and rejected in their entirety.
After stating that Greece, a state governed by the rule of law, remains firmly committed to international law and the protection of human rights, the spokesperson said Greece would like to improve relations with Turkey. Respect for international law is a necessary condition, he underlined.
In this context, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson called on Turkey to respect these fundamental rules, including the Treaty of Lausanne, which Turkey also signed and is obliged to implement.