ABTTF President: “Just as our country takes care of the Greek minority in Albania, protects their rights and negotiates with Albania for the protection and development of their rights, our motherland does the same for us.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye Hakan Fidan referred to the Turkish community in Western Thrace in his speech at the Planning and Budget Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM).
Indicating that the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and the compatriots living in the Dodecanese Islands are among the issues that they prioritise in their relations with Greece, Fidan expressed that they are following the resolution of the issues of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace.
During his official visit to Athens on 8 November, Fidan met with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis, and at the joint press conference held after the bilateral and delegation meeting, Fidan stated that the issues, demands and expectations of the Turkish minority and compatriots living in Greece were brought up in his meeting with his counterpart.
Gerapetritis also noted that during their meeting with Fidan, they also discussed the issue of minorities and expressed their desire for minorities to be a bridge of friendship between the two countries and that both countries are obliged to ensure equality before the law for all citizens.
Greek diplomatic sources reacted to Minister of Foreign Affairs Fidan’s statements regarding the ‘‘Turkish minority’’ in Western Thrace and the ‘‘cognates’’ in the Dodecanese Islands and claimed that the Treaty of Lausanne only mentions the ‘‘Muslim minority’’ in Western Thrace, that Türkiye’s mention of a ‘‘non-existent national minority’’ in this context is contrary to the application of international law, and that Greece will continue to maintain its policy of equality before the law for all its citizens.
“The unconditional embrace of our motherland seems to have disturbed some circles in our country. These circles are consciously trying to prevent the efforts and steps to develop a positive agenda between our country and our motherland. Just as our country protects the Greek minority in Albania, looks after their rights and negotiates with Albania for the protection and development of their rights, our motherland does the same for us. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we support the continuation of the good relations between our country and our motherland and we maintain our hope that this positive agenda will be reflected positively on the solution of our issues’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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