For soft tones, for his data Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke to the government, commenting on his exclusive interview of the Turkish president in “Daily” and the messages he sent.

Apparently they recognize on the Greek side that Erdogan he sticks to his knowledgeable positions that he has expressed in the past, but as they note, “and our own positions are well known, they are constantly repeated, and if tomorrow Mr. Erdogan raises some of the issues that constitute “red lines”, as he did in 2017 with the issue of the Muslim minority in Thrace, he will receive the corresponding answers”. “We are not naive” they emphasized.

Regarding the possibility of a “last minute” visit by Erdogan or his minister to Thrace, it was clarified that nothing has reached Maximos, and neither has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who would be the first recipient of such a request. Everything has remained with the known schedule, emphasized Maximou, that is, Mr. Erdogan and his ministers to depart from Athens at 4 pm after their five-hour planned stay in the capital.

“Sunday my friend, we don’t threaten you if you don’t threaten us”

“Sunday my friend! We don’t threaten you if you don’t threaten us. There is no issue we cannot solve,” he says in his interview in “Daily”to Alexis Papahela and the Manoli Kostidithe Turkish president a few hours before his arrival in Athens.

Erdogan notes: “You asked what I would say to Mr. Mitsotakis. I will tell him this: Kyriakos, my friend, we do not threaten you unless you threaten us. Let us strengthen the trust between our two countries. Let’s increase bilateral cooperation in every fieldin the economy, trade, transport, energy, health, technology, education, youth issues.

Let us show mutual care and concern to the historical and cultural property of our countries. Whether it is the issues in the Aegean, or the joint fight against irregular immigration, or the ongoing problems of the Turkish minority in Greece, there is no problem that we cannot solve through dialogue on the basis of mutual goodwill.”

“To international justice for all problems”

In another part of his interview he states: “I believe that the problems will be solved in the context of dialogue and goodwill. Of course, there are many interrelated problems that need to be solved except for the continental shelf. We must consider them as a whole. A selective approach is not correct. To talk about certain topics and not to talk about others. Because they are all interconnected. When we turn to international justice, we must leave no problem behind. But above all we must speak about all our problems bravely and direct our public opinion properly.’

“Especially for the Mediterranean there are possibilities and opportunities for cooperation – There are many issues we can cooperate with in the Aegean too”

In the same interview, the Turkish president notes: “Whether or not there are reserves is a matter that can be determined as a result of scientific research and not as a result of my personal opinion. From what we see, promising studies have been and are being conducted in this regard. The Mediterranean and the Aegean are basins rich in natural resources. In the current international context, ensuring and maintaining energy security from a strategic point of view has become a key issue. In this sense, especially in the Mediterranean there are possibilities and opportunities for cooperation….There are many issues on which we can cooperate in the Aegean as well. Everything is for the peace and well-being of the people and of our future generations.”