The first official reaction by a top Turkish government official vis-a-vis the still unresolved case of two Greek servicemen being held in Turkey for allegedly straying into that country’s border territory last week came on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim merely noting that the issue is before Turkish justice.
Moreover, in comments during a press conference, Yildirim expressed annoyance with the fact that Athens has brought up the matter at the EU level.
“…it’s a become a habit of shifting any issue involving Turkey to the EU, and asking for its (Union) support,” he said, while expressing a view that already strained EU-Turkey relations “will neither proceed, nor recede, with such actions.”
At the same time, he also demanded the prosecution – in Greece – of two individuals who allegedly burned a Turkish flag at a demonstration by supporters of the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi) party.”
Speaking next to the self-styled Turkish Cypriot “prime minister”, Tufan Erhürman, Yildirim also bemoaned what he called “unilateral” activities in Cyprus’ EEZ.
Only Turkey, the occupying military power, recognizes a Turkish Cypriot pseudo-state propped up in the one-third of the island republic seized in 1974.
