Erdogan: US has turned all of Greece into an American base
The Biden administration has been evading questions about the increasing presence of US military in Greece, Turkey’s President Erdogan said at a presser with Hungary PM Orban in Ankara.
President Erdogan said the Americans keep avoiding Turkish questions on bases in Greece, accusing Washington of not acting honestly.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised increasing US military presence in Greece.
“At the moment, I cannot count the number of American bases in Greece. When we put them all together, a picture emerges of Greece almost like a [military] base of America," Erdogan told reporters at a press conference with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Ankara on Thursday.
Erdogan said the Americans keep avoiding Turkish questions on this matter and accused Washington of not acting honestly.
"Why is all this being done right now, why is it being done?" he questioned.
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“This attitude they have adopted with Greece is not the right one," Erdogan said.
“Think about it, we are a NATO country, the US is a NATO member, Greece is a NATO member … why do we fall into disagreement with each other?”
“Among NATO members, in terms of both the number of soldiers and financial support, Turkey is one of the top 7 countries after the United States,” he said.“Greece is far behind. But we believe in ourselves, we are confident and we are the insurance of this region.”
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Erdogan also accused the Greek prime minister of telling "lies" after Athens accused Ankara of "instrumentalising migration".
It is Greece that condemns refugees to death at sea by puncturing their inflatable boats, he said.
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