Erdogan: NATO strong with Türkiye, Greece has no value in alliance

Greece's negative statements to NATO about Türkiye cannot harm ties between Ankara and the alliance, the Turkish president has said.

"Greece's negative approach to NATO (about Ankara) does not weaken Türkiye-NATO relations," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

Greece "has no value" in NATO, he said, adding the alliance is strong with Türkiye.

Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, saying such moves frustrate its good faith efforts for peace.

NATO’s land command, LANDCOM, tweeted on Tuesday a post to mark Türkiye's 100th Victory Day, which commemorates the resounding defeat of the occupying Greek armies at the hands of Turks in the Battle of Dumlupinar in 1922.

LANDCOM deleted it after Greece lodged a complaint with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

LANDCOM tweeted on Thursday a new post to congratulate Türkiye on the occasion of the Victory Day, saying: "We are thankful to have Türkiye as our host nation."

READ MORE: Türkiye will continue to respond to Greece's 'impertinence': Akar

Since the beginning of 2022, Greek warplanes have violated Turkish airspace 256 times and harassed Turkish jets 158 times. Greek coast guard boats also violated Turkish territorial waters 33 times.

Turkish jets engaged in NATO missions over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas on August 23 were harassed by a Russian-made S-300 air defence system stationed on the Greek island of Crete.

Greek military officials have denied the Turkish account of the actions, which are described as “hostile” in the NATO Rules of Engagement.

READ MORE: Erdogan: Greece challenged NATO, allies by intercepting Turkish jets

'Unacceptable'

Later in the day, the Turkish National Defence Ministry issued a strongly worded statement over the deletion of the tweet.

"It is unacceptable that NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) removed the social media post celebrating Aug. 30 Victory Day and the Turkish Armed Forces Day...," the ministry said.

It said the official name given to August 30 by Türkiye is "Victory Day and Turkish Armed Forces Day", adding: "This is the will of our nation and cannot be changed."

The ministry said the deleting of the tweet upon the "unfounded request" of a country that does not hesitate to sabotage NATO missions by putting radar locks on Turkish fighter jets, "has greatly damaged NATO's corporate identity and prestige".

"Whether Victory Day is written or not, the fact that we won victory in 1922 cannot be changed," it added.