(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, OCT 27 - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
on Thursday rejected Turkish claims on the sovereignty of Greek
islands, at the start of an official visit to Athens. Speaking
to Greek daily Ta Nea ahead of an official meeting with Greek
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Scholz said it was "not
acceptable" for a NATO state to question the sovereignty of a
fellow member. He also criticised the "more or less veiled
military threats" towards Greece made repeatedly by Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his senior officials in
recent months. Greece and Turkey, which are both members of the
US-led NATO defence alliance, have feuded for years over
maritime borders and energy exploration rights in the Aegean and
east Mediterranean seas. On his first visit to Greece as
chancellor, Scholz on Thursday urged both states to resolve
their differences "through dialogue and on the basis of
international law". Erdogan has lately also accused Greece of
"occupying" Aegean islands whose status was settled in treaties
adopted after World War I. (ANSA-AFP).
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