Turkish president tells Greece he wants to rip up border treaty

[muriel_volestrangler]

A landmark treaty delineating the borders between Greece and Turkey , regarded as a cornerstone of regional peace, should be placed on the rubbish heap of history, according to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The comments by the notoriously confrontational politician, who rarely travels to Europe, came on the eve of a historic visit to Greece that many had hoped would put fraught bilateral relations on a new footing..

Instead, Erdoğan’s words drew sharp rebukes from Greece’s president and head of state, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, and prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.

“The Treaty of Lausanne defines the territory and the sovereignty of Greece, and of the European Union, and this treaty is non-negotiable,” Pavlopoulos said as Erdoğan sat stony faced next to him, surrounded by Greek and Turkish officials. “It has no flaws, it does not need to be reviewed, or updated.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/07/turkish-president-erdogan-to-make-landmark-visit-to-greece

Erdgogan tries to out-do Trump in the bull-in-a-china-shop approach to world diplomacy ...

[Lithos]

1. Interesting

The Treaty of Lausanne is what spelled the official end of the Ottoman Empire. I believe Erdogan's bluster is more about restoring the Ottoman Empire than not. And I'm sure he's well aware the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was also the Caliphate or the titular successor to the Prophet Muhammed. This falls in line with his attempts to restore Turkey to what he believes is it's rightful place in the Islamic world.

L-