ABTTF President: “The statement made by Mitsotakis has once again confirmed our country’s subjective approach to human and minority rights and the double standards it applies in this area. As an EU member state, our country must first demonstrate full respect for minority rights and fully uphold the principles of the rule of law and democracy.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on 22 April 2026, at the Maximos Mansion in Athens.
During the meeting, Mitsotakis reiterated Greece’s support for Albania’s European Union (EU) accession process, noting that a positive outcome of this process would only be possible if Albania implemented fundamental reforms in areas such as the rule of law, the protection of minority rights, and particularly property rights.
Rama also thanked Greece for its support and noted that he was pleased that everything that should remain in the past has indeed remained there.
“Prime Minister Mitsotakis is warning neighbouring Albania to protect the rights of the Greek minority, yet he turns a blind eye to the fact that Greece—which has been an EU member since 1981—not only fails to respect minority rights but also denies the very existence of national minorities within its borders. Our country denies the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, all of whom are Greek and EU citizens, and does not permit associations whose names include the word “Turkish” By failing to execute the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments regarding our community’s associations for the past 18 years, our country is disregarding the rule of law, one of the EU’s most fundamental values. The statement made by Mitsotakis has once again confirmed our country’s subjective approach to human and minority rights and the double standards it applies in this area. As an EU member state, our country must first demonstrate full respect for minority rights and fully uphold the principles of the rule of law and democracy’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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