NEWS

Open mic reveals exchange on Greece-Turkey at Berlin meeting

Open mic reveals exchange on Greece-Turkey at Berlin meeting

An effort to mediate a thaw between Greece and Turkey was “smooth” on the Greek side but “really hard on the Turkish side,” German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, in an off-record discussion in Berlin on Wednesday.

In a video published on Wednesday from a press conference at the informal meeting of European defense ministers in the German capital, the two officials are seen discussing talks with Greek and Turkish officials in front of an open microphone.

“How was it?” Borrell asks Kramp-Karrenbauer.

“Hard,” she replies. “A little bit more smooth on the Greek side but really hard on the Turkish side.”

“The Turks are very upset with this deal with Egypt,” comments Borrell, in reference to the recent exclusive economic zone agreement signed between Athens and Cairo.

“They feel that the Greek are not reliable,” he adds.

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