Turkey rebukes Greece's historic claims, demands sensible response
Turkey's foreign ministry dismissed recent Greek statements about the 1919-1922 Anatolian occupation as unfounded and urged Athens to act with seriousness.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected recent Greek remarks concerning the era when Greece attempted to occupy Anatolia, labeling the claims as without foundation. Ankara cited archival evidence released the previous week, including photographs showing mass killings and village destructions by Greek troops between 1919 and 1922. The ministry stressed that the Treaty of Lausanne and international reports acknowledge these actions and that Greece bears a reparations duty under Article 59.
It also referenced a specific example of a village near Bursa as a stark illustration of civilian massacres. The Greek side had earlier seen Defence Minister Nikos Dendias post his view of the war on platform X, prompting Ankara's response. Turkey urged Greek officials to handle the matter with seriousness and common sense.
Why it matters
The exchange revives historic grievances that could affect current Turkey-Greece diplomatic relations.
How this story developed
- Aug 28 Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey launch Mecca Defence Alliance, secretariat set in Riyadh
- Sep 3 Greece delivered a diplomatic note to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, instructed by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, contesting Turkish objections to Greek spatial planning frameworks and the creation of two national maritime parks. Athens maintains that international treaties define Aegean sovereignty and that Turkey’s own maritime park declarations overstep its jurisdiction. Both sides exchanged notes reiterating their positions, while Greece pledged to raise any unilateral Turkish actions with European partners. Despite tensions, intelligence chiefs met to keep security cooperation alive, and leaders plan to attend the UN General Assembly.
- Sep 6 Turkey reiterated its long‑standing claims over continental shelves.
- Sep 13 Pakistan reiterated that no immediate military response under the Makkah pact is being discussed.
- Sep 13 The Greek prime minister publicly called for dialogue with Turkey while maintaining a formal protest over Turkey’s maritime park claims.
In this story
Related stories
25 in this thread