Turkey upset over minority
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Athens on Saturday that it had to do more to uphold the rights of the Muslim minority in northeastern Greece as Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis again urged Ankara to meet its European Union accession commitments. Erdogan claimed Greece’s treatment of the minority was a violation of human rights as it does not allow Muslims to elect their own religious representatives. «This issue must be resolved,» Erdogan told a gathering of Muslims from the region. «If not, there are things Turkey could do under the principle of reciprocity.» Meanwhile, Bakoyannis said Greece would not provide «unconditional support» for Turkey’s bid to join the EU. The foreign minister said Ankara has to show it is willing to meet Brussels’s membership criteria. She also encouraged Turkey to display the «political will» needed to start reunification talks in Cyprus as Turkey’s «way to the European Union passes through Cyprus, passes through a united European Cyprus.»
