Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to the Turkish actions in the Eastern Mediterranean region and attacked Greece.
Moreover, he said that the escalation of the tensions was due to the Greek actions and that he would discuss the issue with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
He added, “After a ‘break’ of 86 years, we opened [Hagia Sophia] as a mosque. It was a childhood dream, which will benefit the nation and humanity.” In addition, he said that the Oruc Reis would continue the seismic investigations until the 23rd of August.
At the same time, he deemed the stance of Greece in the Aegean and Mediterranean area as “vicious”. He stressed, “Athens’ claims to Kastellorizo island, which is only 2 km from the Turkish coast and 580 km from mainland Greece, show a lack of common sense.”
During his speech, the Turkish president also attacked his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, due to his intervention yesterday, in which he called on Turkey to stop its unilateral actions. “The only thing to which Macron and others aim through their actions is to impose colonial rule in the region. This is not Ankara’s aspiration.”