Turkey and Greece have exchanged harsh words about Hagia Sophia’s conversion of Istanbul into a mosque, a day after Islamic prayers at the ancient site for the first time in 90 years.
Relations between NATO allies Ankara and Athens have been awkward in recent months, but tensions have recently escalated over Hagia Sophia and energy wealth in the eastern Mediterranean.
“We see that the targets of those countries that have made so much noise in recent days are not Hagia Sophia or the eastern Mediterranean,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech on Saturday.
“[Their targets] they are the very presence of the Turkish nation and the Muslims in this region. “
He also condemned hostile statements by the Greek government and members of Parliament and the burning of Turkish flags in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Erdogan joined thousands for the first Islamic prayer on Friday since Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque this month.
Hagia Sophia was previously a museum and most Greeks see it as the center of their Orthodox Christian religion: Church bells rang in mourning throughout Greece on Friday.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday that what was happening in Istanbul “was not a show of strength, but a test of weakness.”
He also called Turkey a “troublemaker,” and the site’s conversion an “affront to 21st century civilization.”
In a statement on Saturday, the spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “Greece once again showed its enmity towards Islam and Turkey with the excuse of reacting to the Hagia Sophia mosque that was opened to prayers.”
The Greek Foreign Ministry responded with its own statement, saying: “The international community of the 21st century is stunned to see the ramblings of religious fanatics and nationalists in Turkey today.”
Greece and Turkey disagree on a variety of issues from airspace to sea areas in the eastern Mediterranean and ethnically divided Cyprus.
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