UPDATE - Türkiye expects EU to call on Greece for bilateral dialogue, says president

ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Diyar Guldogan

PRAGUE (AA) - Ankara expects the EU to call on Greece for dialogue on a bilateral basis, instead of supporting illegal initiatives, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

"I expect the EU to call on our interlocutors for dialogue on a bilateral basis instead of supporting illegal initiatives masquerading as unity or solidarity," Erdogan said at a news conference in the Czech Republic.

Erdogan is in the capital Prague at the invitation of European Council President Charles Michel and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to attend the first meeting of the European Political Community.

The president said he held "intensive and productive" talks at the summit, where Türkiye conveyed its views, contributions, and assessments on the challenges Europe is currently faced with in terms of peace and security, energy, climate, and economic situation.

He added that Türkiye is "irreplaceable" in overcoming the EU's challenges and redefining its international role.

"Our fundamental and primary expectation is that the European Political Community will strengthen our relations with the (European) union and contribute to our membership process," Erdogan said.

Many countries at the summit expected a step from Türkiye to develop ties with Greece, Erdogan said, adding that there was "nothing to talk about with Greece now."

"Not only Greece, but no matter which country is attacking us, our answer is always be 'We may come suddenly one night.' They should know that," he said.

Stressing that Ankara does not seek to acquire the territory or sovereignty of any country, Erdogan said Türkiye was only fighting to protect its interests and those of Turkish Cypriots.

On Cyprus, he underlined that the "only key" to a solution on the East Mediterranean island was the recognition of the Turkish Cypriot people's sovereign equality and equal international status with the Greek Cypriot administration. "For a permanent solution, the facts on the Island must be accepted," he added.

- Warming up ties with Armenia

Turning to his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Erdogan said their talk was held in a "friendly atmosphere."

"I sincerely believe that we can achieve our goal of full normalization on the basis of good neighborly relations in our region," he said.

Despite Türkiye being one of the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence in 1991, the two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including Yerevan's occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the events of 1915 during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, and the border closure between the two neighboring countries since 1993.

In 2021, Ankara and Yerevan mutually appointed special representatives to normalize ties.

Erdogan said the two countries' foreign ministers and special representatives will gather, and will take the step to a further level.

"We want to warm up relations between Türkiye-Armenia-Azerbaijan as soon as possible and solve this issue," he added.

Erdogan told Pashinyan that Türkiye has no preconditions for this, adding: "As soon as you make a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, we will have no problem."