The dialogue between them took place in a positive atmosphere Kyriakou Mitsotakis and his Recep Tayyip Erdoganduring the phone call of the Greek prime minister to the Turkish president, yesterday afternoon, to wish him on his 70th birthday, as reported by Manolis Kostidis from Istanbul.

It was a surprise for the Turkish president, noted Manolis Kostidis, when at around 1:15 (Greece time) his phone rang and Kyriakos Mitsotakis was on the other end of the line to say “happy birthday”.

The Mitsotakis phone call is considered by Ankara to be part of the movements for the prevalence of “calm waters” in Greek-Turkish relations, and the fact that it was also officially announced by the Turkish presidency acquires special significance.

In view of the upcoming visit of Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Turkey, probably in May.

Turkish Media: Erdogan Once Said ‘If You Reach 70 You’re Done’ – Now He’s 70

Fatih Portakal, host of SOZCU TV said: “Erdogan turned 70 and his traveling companion Devlet Bakhceli sent him 70 roses. They asked Erdoğan and he said that Mr. Bakhceli sent me roses as long as he is my age. But, we don’t know their color. If he sent white roses they symbolize innocence, red ones show love while yellow ones show friendship. We do not know what Mr. Bakhtseli sent him. Happy Birthday. He reached 70! But he used to say something else. I remembered a phrase that Erdoğan himself used to say ‘if he reaches 70 you are finished’. This is what he himself said about Erbakan and Ecevit. Mr. President, Mr. Erdogan, time flies so fast. You see how you too reached 70! I hope you are not finished…”

Erdogan: “We are focusing our attention on the F-16s. These are our immediate plans”

The Turkish president does not discuss the possibility of Turkey returning to the F-35 program.

Erdogan: “Beyond the F-35 program, our immediate plans and program are now focused on the F-16. Both the Congress and the House of Representatives… In our conversations with the senators who visited us, we talked more about what steps we can take with regard to the F-16s. In addition, our partners meet with their counterparts. In the meetings of both my secretary of state and the secretary of state of the United States, we insist on this issue, we follow it.”

Erdogan’s remark to a journalist

“Come together!”

Erdogan: “They went and announced candidates of our former members or those who take a stance against us. And they continue the march with them.

Journalist: “You called them ‘circus acrobats'”

Erdogan: What?

Journalist: You called them ‘circus acrobats’

Erdogan: I didn’t mention their name… Rusty, come together!

Hagia Sophia in Turkey’s pre-election controversy

Imamoglou: “They accuse me of not providing cleaning and security services in Hagia Sophia, of allegedly being in pain that it has become a mosque”

The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, said: “Last night a madman said on TV, ‘Imamoglu does not provide cleaning and security services at the Hagia Sophia mosque.’ Why is this happening; Because he claims that I allegedly suffer because it has become a mosque. He reads my mind, my conscience, even my heart! He puts forth the lie about Hagia Sophia not out of ignorance, but because he is a bad man, because he is mad.

I’ve never said that before. Even when the Hagia Sophia mosque was not just a place of worship, even when it was a museum, the imam in one part of the space read the prayer and the worshipers prayed in another part. Do I now have to tell people how many times I’ve been there?

These are bad people. Do you know what those are like? For example, I am descended from my late grandfather, may God have mercy on him, and my father… They are all faithful hajjis. They used to say that the other person should not see you, where you will pray, where you will prepare… Do his prayer without being seen. That’s how we learned. Because our faith is between the Creator and the servant. But for them prayer has become a matter of show. They are using all their bad feelings to hurt the nation, divide and divide the nation.”