The calm right now in the Aegean is very valuable, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking in Greek-Turkish, and stressed that both sides have the utmost sensitivity to reduce tension.

He spoke of a solution to the problems in the interest of the two countries, but he also spoke about issues in the Aegean, raised the issue of the Turkish minority in Thrace and said that the Turkish army is ready to face any challenge.

In a full interview he gave to the Turkish TV network Haber Global, the head of Turkish diplomacy said that there is a search for normalization started at the level of leaders with Greece after the May 2023 elections and tasked the two foreign ministers to find ways to solve this problem peacefully.

“We are really in search of this with my Greek colleaguesaid Mr. Fidan.

“We are in such a situation that both sides show maximum sensitivity in terms of de-escalation. From time to time some incidents and challenges arise, we also see them as Turkey, but we see that the Greek policy at the present stage, the government of Mr. Mitsotakis, follows an attitude in the direction of not increasing the tension and continuing the talks with a positive way” ethe Turkish Foreign Minister then said and added: “How can we develop this process into practical solutions? Because there is a cluster of problems between us, that is, the maritime areas, the air areas, the continental shelf, the problem of the minorities, that is, the problem of the Turkish minority, the problem of the Muslim minority, there are problems concerning worship there, there are problems concerning the appointment of the mufti, there are problems concerning education, there are positions that both countries have taken in Cyprus, there are issues concerning the Mediterranean, matters concerning the Aegean».

“There is a view of how we can solve all these issues in the interest of both countries, in a way that both countries can accept” said Hakan Fidan and emphasized that “even this view itself is really incredibly valuable”.

As he said, “we see the same approach from the Greek side, both from the side of the Prime Minister and from the side of my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and we hope that our efforts will bring concrete results. This is our intention, both for the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, and in general for all the problems in the Aegean and the issues in the Mediterranean».

Hakan Fidan, answering the questions of Haber Global journalists also said: “We are not a country that defines its politics through Greece, i.e. it is not our ‘alter ego’. We are not in a situation where our political parties need it (i.e. Greece) too much to be in politics. Thank God, Turkish politics has grown up a lot, it has diversified a lot, it is in a situation where it is looking at much more important, much more strategic, much higher issues. This does not mean that we ignore these problems No, but we are at a point where we think more globally and in a broader perspective, that is, as in the Aegean, we have interests and issues in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, Africa, Central Asia, Asia and the Pacific and we try to we manage all of these at the same time. And when you look at the history of Greece, its separation from the Ottoman Empire and its heterogeneity, that is, with us, it is inevitably the main determinant of politics there».

According to the Turkish foreign minister, with the exception of a period when Athens’ interest had turned to Skopje over the naming problem, “which concerned the historical identity of Greece“, as he said, “in Greece’s foreign policy, especially during periods of right-wing governments, the issue has always been Turkey».

He then wondered how we can proceed with more peaceful methods, saying that the region needs peace and tranquility.

“I mean, there’s already a big war going on in the Black Sea, and this calm in the Aegean is so precious, to act consciously and responsiblyhe said and added:

“But everyone knows that our army is ready to repel any challenge. He has received relevant instructions. But our priority is indeed to advance our interests diplomatically.”.

Asked about the opposition’s criticism of the government’s complacency in matters concerning Greek-Turkish relations, the Turkish foreign minister replied that criticism is necessary.

“If the government is hiding something, the press and the opposition will find it and show it to the public. When you go to misinformation, the incident develops into another dimension. Most of the time, it is said ‘so it is’ without any basis, without any point of reference. Foreign policy issues in national affairs are serious, not funny. They should be approached with caution. People need to know their limits in this area” commented the foreign minister of Turkey.