Türkiye Again Threatens to Wage War on Greece

The Turkish and Cypriot presidents at the Prague summit on Thursday, October 6, 2022. (AFP)
The Turkish and Cypriot presidents at the Prague summit on Thursday, October 6, 2022. (AFP)
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Türkiye Again Threatens to Wage War on Greece

The Turkish and Cypriot presidents at the Prague summit on Thursday, October 6, 2022. (AFP)
The Turkish and Cypriot presidents at the Prague summit on Thursday, October 6, 2022. (AFP)

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that his country doesn’t want a war with Greece but it is using the language its neighbor understands.

Ties between Türkiye and Greece have been strained for years over territorial conflicts in the east Mediterranean, but tensions have escalated in recent months over what Türkiye says is a Greek military buildup on Aegean islands close to the Turkish coast.

The Turkish president last month fueled tensions between the two by saying that “we might come suddenly one night.”

“You’ve understood it right, they should have taken the message as well,” Erdogan said in Prague when asked by a journalist if he meant an attack against Greece.

He stressed that Ankara does not want tensions with any of its neighbors and is fighting to protect its borders and interests.

“We don’t want tension with any party, but instead a solution within the legal framework,” Erdogan stated.

He said unarmed aerial vehicles and combat drones are in Northern Cyprus to protect it from all sides.

Erdogan was speaking to reporters on his way back from the first European Political Community Summit in Prague on Thursday.

Asked whether there is a plan to set up a Turkish military base in the northeastern Karpas peninsula in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Erdogan said Turkish drones may also be sent to the region.

“Because we need to secure Northern Cyprus from all sides, from all aspects. Whether it (the base) is (set up) or not, our jets will immediately be in Northern Cyprus as soon as they take off from our mainland,” he added.

Ankara threatened to boost defenses of the Turkish Cypriots in the north of the island, two weeks after Washington lifted a decades-old arms embargo on the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government located in the south of the island.

“The United States, which overlooks and even encourages the steps by the Cypriot-Greek duo that threaten peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean, will lead to an armament race on the island with this step,” Erdogan said.

He affirmed that Türkiye already has 40,000 troops on the island, and it will reinforce them with land, naval and aerial weapons, ammunition and vehicles.

“Everyone must know that this last step will not go unresponded and that every precaution will be taken for the security of the Turkish Cypriots,” Erdogan warned.

He said that Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades insisted on meeting with him on the sidelines of the summit in Prague.

“Anastasiades insisted on a bilateral meeting...I responded by reminding him that his term ends in two months. In a situation like this, such an issue is not to be discussed,” Erdogan noted.



Zelensky Urges Trump to Visit Ukraine to See War Devastation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AP
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Zelensky Urges Trump to Visit Ukraine to See War Devastation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday to visit his country to better understand the devastation wrought by Russia's invasion.

"Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," he said in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview broadcast Sunday.

With a visit to Ukraine, Trump "will understand what (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin did."

"You will understand with whom you have a deal," Zelensky added.

Zelensky's invitation follows the heated row at the White House in late February between the Ukrainian president, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, which played out in front of press.

Vance at the time accused Ukraine of hosting foreign leaders on "propaganda tours" to win support.

Zelensky repeated his denial of that allegation and told CBS that if Trump chose to visit Ukraine, "we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater."

"You can go exactly where you want, in any city which (has) been under attacks."

Trump is pushing for a quick end to the more than three-year war, with the United States holding direct talks with Russia despite its unrelenting attacks on Ukraine.

Washington has also held talks with Ukrainian officials on a potential truce, while European nations are discussing a military deployment to reinforce any Ukraine ceasefire.

Kyiv has previously agreed to a US-proposed unconditional ceasefire but Moscow has turned it down.

"Putin can't be trusted. I told that to President Trump many times. So when you ask why the ceasefire isn't working -- this is why," Zelensky said.

"Putin never wanted an end to the war. Putin never wanted us to be independent. Putin wants to destroy us completely -- our sovereignty and our people."

Zelensky spoke to CBS Friday in his hometown Kryvyi Rig, where a Russian strike earlier this month killed 18 people, including nine children.

The Ukrainian leader said he had "100 percent hatred" for Putin, asking "how else can you see a person who came here and murdered our people, murdered children?"

However, he added that the animosity "doesn't mean we shouldn't work to end the war as soon as possible."

As negotiations continue over ending the war, Zelensky said that a just peace would be "to not lose our sovereignty or our independence," and pledged to eventually reclaim any territory currently held by Russia.

"We, no matter what, will take back what is ours because we never lost it -- the Russians took it from us."