Report: Turkey Seeks Permanent Presence in Several Countries

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Sunday that Turkey is trying to establish a "permanent military presence" in many countries, noting that this matter could be a "destabilizing factor."

Dendias added in a tweet that Turkey "is increasingly playing the religious card to advance its geopolitical agenda, and we have seen examples of this in our immediate neighborhood, in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean."

The Greek minister manifested that this is also increasing in other parts of the world, especially in Africa, according to a report published by Al-Arabiya.net. 

Commenting on these statements, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, "Greece continues to provoke and violate bilateral agreements, and the Greek minister's statements do not correspond to the talks between the two countries' presidents."

On Friday, the Greek news agency quoted Dendias as saying that he had not seen "concrete evidence" of a change in Turkey's behavior or beliefs.

The minister stressed during an economic conference that his country's foreign policy "is based on the principles of international law and the law of the sea, in light of that most countries in the eastern Mediterranean follow these principles and understand the need to follow them."

But he added, "Unfortunately, there is only one minority country, which is Turkey, that does not adhere to these principles for reasons of its own."

"Many things will depend on what will happen on July 20 and how Erdogan will choose to celebrate the anniversary of Turkey's invasion of northern Cyprus in 1974," he added.

Dendias' talk today about building Turkish bases abroad comes the day after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed on Saturday that Turkish intelligence and pro-Ankara factions are preparing to send a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya.

The SOHR stated on Saturday that more than 150 members of the various factions and the so-called "National Army" loyal to Ankara "are preparing to go to Turkey in the coming hours, to transfer them to Libya before the middle of this month."

The Observatory stated that a batch of the same number would return from Libya, "where the departures and returnees are transported by the same plane."

In another context, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday that Ankara and Washington had agreed to "arrangements" for Turkish forces to secure Kabul Airport after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.