By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye is "not Greece's enemy" after being asked whether Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' remarks on F-35 sales could put the current climate of rapprochement and negotiations at risk.
Speaking to journalists at the Turkish House in New York on September 24, Erdoğan said Ankara was not concerned with Greek domestic politics.
"We have no interest in the domestic politics of Greece or any of our other neighbors," Erdoğan said. "There may be elections in Greece, the government may change, the opposition may change. These are not our concern."
"Our concern is Türkiye's rights, its security, and preserving peace and calm in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean."
"I want to make this very clear. Türkiye is not Greece's enemy. It is its neighbor and its ally under the NATO umbrella," Erdoğan said.
"Relations between the two countries are too delicate and important to be turned into election material."
Trump and Türkiye's F-35 return
Earlier in the same press conference, Erdoğan said he had discussed Türkiye's return to the F-35 program with US President Donald Trump during NATO meetings.
"He showed a positive willingness regarding Türkiye's return to the F-35 program," Erdoğan said. "We now expect this willingness to turn into concrete steps."
Erdoğan said contacts were continuing and that he believed Türkiye would obtain a result.
He also said his relationship with Trump had given momentum to ties between Ankara and Washington.
"Cooperation between the two countries has come a considerable distance compared with the previous administration," Erdoğan said. "I believe it will not stop here and that we will reach more advanced goals."
Erdoğan said Türkiye would continue investing in its own defense industry alongside the F-35 talks.
"What is important for us, of course, is our domestic defense industry. This is very, very important for us," he said.
"We want to produce our own fighter aircraft, especially KAAN, our air defense systems and our defense industry capabilities."
Erdoğan also said work with the United Kingdom on Eurofighter was continuing.
"Türkiye has security, defense needs and strategic objectives," he said. "We will work for our goals and, God willing, we will not step back."
Mitsotakis links progress to 'threats of war'
Mitsotakis, addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly, said Greece and Türkiye had spent the past three years trying to improve relations, rebuild trust and keep communication channels open.
"Dialogue is essential for peace and prosperity," Mitsotakis said.
"However, meaningful dialogue cannot coexist with unilateral actions that challenge the international legal order, nor can there be meaningful progress when we are confronted with threats of war in response to the exercise of legitimate rights under International Law."
He also reiterated Athens' position that the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zones is the only longstanding dispute between Greece and Türkiye.
"Let me reiterate that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the only institutional framework for resolving our sole longstanding dispute, which concerns the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zones," Mitsotakis said.
Sources: Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications, Office of the Prime Minister of Greece, Bosphorus News review and reporting