The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an announcement in response to a previous post by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which referred to the Muslim minority in Thrace as Turkish.
The statement emphasises the Treaty of Lausanne and its stipulations regarding this religious minority in Thrace.
Specifically, it states: “We would like to remind you that the Treaty of Lausanne clearly defines the nature of the minority in Thrace as religious.
As a European state governed by the rule of law, Greece acts within the framework set by its constitution and fully implements the relevant provisions of international conventions for the protection of human rights. Greece also fully respects and protects the religious beliefs and cultural particularities of the Muslim minority in Thrace. As Greek citizens, the members of this minority enjoy full equality before the law and equal civil rights.
Repeated statements of a similar nature neither create law nor contribute to the establishment of a climate of trust and good neighbourly relations”.
In a social media post, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated the Turkish Union of Xanthi on its 99th anniversary.
The post also stated that the Ministry continues to support the Union, the oldest civil society organisation of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, in its legitimate struggle to use its own name, and in its determined efforts in line with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.”
İskeçe Türk Birliği’nin 99. Kuruluş yıldönümü kutlu olsun!
Batı Trakya Türk Azınlığının en köklü sivil toplum kuruluşu olan Birliğin, kendi ismini kullanma yönündeki haklı mücadelesini ve Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi kararları doğrultusunda azimle sürdürdüğü girişimlerini… pic.twitter.com/T2SkbvN0U0
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) April 14, 2026
What the Treaty of Lausanne states
Articles 37–45 explicitly refer to a ‘Muslim minority’, clarifying that its defining criteria are religious. There is no reference whatsoever to a “Turkish minority”, nor to any national, ethnic, or linguistic criterion.
