ANKARA, June 8. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that he does not believe that US military bases deployed in Greece are aimed against Russia.
"Currently, nine US military bases have been established in Greece. Whom have they been deployed against. They say that against Russia. But we won’t buy that," Erdogan said after talks with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Erdogan also pointed out that Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis initially offered to hold talks between Ankara and Athens without involvement of third countries, and, in just two weeks, delivered a speech in the US Congress with an anti-Turkish rhetoric.
In May, the Turkish leader stated that, after Kiriakos’ visit to the US, where he called not to sell F-16 planes to Turkey, the Prime Minister of Greece "does not exist" anymore for him. In response, the Athens said that Greece has no intention to get involved in a debate with Turkey.
Turkey and Greece, both NATO member states, repeatedly found themselves at the verge of a military conflict due to disputed islands in the Aegean Sea, and boundaries of territorial waters and airspace. During the May 25 World Economic Forum in Davos, the Greek Prime Minister said that Greece will raise the question of Turkey’s violation of Greek airspace until Turkey stops doing it. The next day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Greece of violation of international obligations regarding the demilitarization of the Aegean Sea islands and threatened response measures.