Criticism Of Washington's Attitude On Greece, President Erdogan Calls The US Will Not Care For Other Allies Like Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Source: Presidency of The Republic of Turkiye)

JAKARTA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the United States for his stance on Turkish-Yunani tensions, saying Washington had lost its side and could not find allies like Ankara.

"The US is not acting fairly against NATO member states. Both Greece and Turkey are NATO member countries, with Turkey in the top five when it comes to its contribution to the bloc," he said in an interview with CNN Turk, as reported by Daily Sabah September 29.

President Erdogan said there was no comparison between Turkey and the Greek position on NATO, with Washington unable to find other allies such as Ankara. President Erdogan also said it was unacceptable for the US to send armored vehicles to demilitarized islands.

"Our hope from the US is that it does not involve Greece in wrong calculations and does not allow manipulation of international public opinion," he added.

President Erdogan's criticism came after Greece sent armored vehicles donated by the US to the islands of Lesbos and Samos.

Turkey has complained of repeated provocative and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, including arming islands near Turkey's militarized beaches under the agreement, saying such measures thwarted efforts in good faith for peace.

Turkey and Greece clash over a number of issues, including claims competing over jurisdictions in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelf, sea boundaries, airspace, energy, ethnicly split island of Cyprus, the status of islands in the Cyprus Islands, the Aegean Sea and migrants.