Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras replied to comments made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding the 1923 Lausanne Treaty as a defeat for Turkey because it failed to secure islands near the Turkish coast. Tsipras said that the statements made by Erdogan at a gathering of provincial governors on Thursday were “dangerous” for bilateral ties.
An announcement was issued following the Greek Governing Council of Defense and Foreign Affairs (KYSEA) where Tsipras stated the following: “Questioning the Treaty of Lausanne, which established norms in Greco-Turkish relations [and] the status quo in the Aegean and its islands, is dangerous to relations between the two countries and to the broader region.”
Tsipras said that Greece would continue to be a pylon of peace and stability in a vulnerable area and defend its sovereign rights in the framework of international law. In Turkey, opposition social democrats leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, criticized Erdogan’s comments pointing out that the AKP Government has given 16 islands and one reef to Greece.
Erdogan had questioned the wisdom of the Treaty of Lausanne on Thursday during a meeting with provincial governors. The peace treaty established borders between Greece and Turkey and was essentially the founding document of the post-Ottoman Turkish state.
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