The Turkish president continues to engage in provocative rhetoric, who, although he claims that he has no problem in meeting Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he took a sideswipe at Greece’s stance in Kastellorizo while announcing that the Oruç Reis vessel will continue the research as soon as the maintenance work is completed.
He said that they decided to withdraw the research vessel in order to allow a diplomatic rapprochement with Greece but that did not mean that Turkish operations in the region were over.
“I have no problem in meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis,” told Recep Tayyip Erdogan the reporters after Friday prayers at the Ali Mosque in Constantinople, accompanied by cabinet members. As he said, what matters is “what we will discuss and in what context we will meet.”
He also took a sideswipe at Greece’s attitude, saying that it will be difficult to hold a meeting with the Greek prime minister “when the country acts like that in Kastelorizo.” In fact, he pointed an accusing finger at Katerina Sakellaropoulou, saying that “if the president of Greece comes to Kastellorizo for a show of force, then we will do it even better.”
Referring to the research vessel Oruç Reis, Erdogan said that he would return to duty after the completion of maintenance work, noting that the act of withdrawing the vessel has also some kind of significance.
Placing particular emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic, Erdogan said that the easing of restrictive measures should be stopped while referring to the positive messages about the vaccine after the new year.
