Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his annoyance at the hostile actions towards his country by countries allied to Ankara, but he did not name these countries. He also indicated that there are countries that support Greece to wage a war against his country by proxy, in a repetition of events that occurred 100 years ago.
This came in two speeches - yesterday, Tuesday - on the occasion of the anniversary of the victory of the Turkish army over the Greeks in the Turkish city of Afyon, during the 1922 war.
In a speech he delivered during his participation in the graduation ceremony of a batch of students from the National Defense University in the capital, Ankara, he said, "There are countries that say that they are our allies, but they come with hostile behavior towards Turkey or support those who oppose it, which is something that annoys us. However, we move in our relations according to a group On the other hand, we do not neglect establishing new partnerships according to our needs, as we always call for dialogue, friendship and mutual gain.
Erdogan praised the heroism of the Turkish army after the failed coup attempt in July 2016, and its operations in northern Syria, starting with Operation Euphrates Shield, then Olive Branch, Peace Spring and Spring Shield.
He pointed out that international and regional developments indicate Turkey's need to strengthen its army with more qualified manpower.
Erdogan also stressed that Turkey has always been a stabilizing factor in the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Black Sea during the Cold War years, and reiterated that Turkey does not covet any country's lands, gains or freedom.
In another speech, while attending a concert on the occasion of "Victory Day" at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, the Turkish president said that "Greece is not an equal to Turkey politically, economically and militarily," adding, "We realize the true intention of those trying to waste our country's time and energy through Greece, as happened a century ago ".
Erdogan indicated that Greece defied NATO and its allies through its hostile stances, which began by harassing Turkish fighters, and reached the level of tracking fighters by the radar of the Russian S-300 missile system.
The Turkish president pointed out that the United States considered Turkey's purchase of the Russian "S-400" system - which was done with the aim of meeting its security needs - as a threat to its fighters, noting that this step was met by Washington imposing a ban on Ankara with regard to supplying it with defense industry products, and the matter came to a halt. On the delivery of "F-35" fighters, after paying part of their price.
He explained that Turkey is awaiting the response that the United States will give to Greece's activation of the "S-300" systems against an air force in NATO, noting that "the United States, which refrained from handing us F-35 fighters, honored Greece with it, and opened its hands for the entry of these fighters with the Russian defense systems in one trench.
On Tuesday, Ankara commemorated the victory over the Allied forces and the invading Greek forces on August 30, 1922, which is a national holiday in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.