Turkey's Defence Minister Houloussi Akar continued his provocative rhetoric against Greece, referring to our country's alliances and armaments, while stressing that Ankara wants «fair and common» sharing of all wealth.
«All these are futile attempts. If they are done against Turkey, they are of no value, if they are done for defence they are superfluous. Such behavior affects the well-being of the Greek people when they have such economic problems,» Houloussi Akar said.
The Turkish Defence Minister then warned that «we are neighbours and allies with Greece. However, there are common dangers for both countries. What are they? There are refugees, pandemic, terrorism. It is necessary to take these into account and plan accordingly. We say let us establish an honest, transparent and open system of dialogue. We want the Aegean to be a sea of friendship and we want a common and fair sharing of all wealth.
Beyond that, we want it to be known that we will never allow any fait accompli against our rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and Cyprus and we strongly underline this.».
On the US supply of F-16s, he said: «This means strengthening not only Turkey but also NATO. The process continues. In response to a congressional question on the issue, the US State Department responded in a letter. Although there are some positive elements in that letter, it is necessary to be cautious. This is a process, hopefully with a positive outcome. Until our indigenous warplane becomes a reality, we believe that the F16s can meet our needs.».
Finally, on SAMP-T missiles, Houloussi Akar said that «our President also met with French President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Draghi on the joint SAMP-T missile programme between Turkey, France and Italy. We also met with the defense ministers of the two countries. A trilateral discussion is required on this, but there is an election process in France at the moment. After that is over, our wish is to restart the process and conclude it positively.».
