Yesterday, the Citizens’ Protection Minister responded in the most stern tone to Ankara’s incessant statements about our country’s alleged ties to terrorism. “Greece, from a position of principle, opposes any form of terrorism, and all mankind knows this. Insults and slander by representatives of the Ministry of Interior of Turkey remain unheeded,” Mr. T. Theodorikakos emphasized and added: “Those who barbarously use unfortunate people, illegal immigrants and those who poison the relations between the two peoples are shameless.”

It was preceded by a comment by Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Tsatakli, who, after calling the Greek minister “impudent” and “unscrupulous”, turned to Greece: “It is clear that you are guarding the borders. It is clear that you are guarding the border from the Lavrio PKK Camp. You kill innocents, you take in terrorists.” This provocative comment by a specific Turkish official came in response to Mr. Theodorikakos (SKAI)’s statement two days ago that “we are against any terrorist acts. Greece guards its borders well and will never accept terrorists on its soil. Every night we face a lot of pressure on our borders.” With these words, the Minister of Citizens’ Protection essentially rejected the assertion of the Interior Minister, her neighbor S. Soylu, that the woman arrested for the deadly terrorist attack in Istanbul had a plan to escape to Greece. Recall that the Turkish minister from the very beginning also expressed confidence that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was behind the deadly explosion.