Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. File photoANKARA, Oct 11 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged the West not to support the illegal initiatives of Athens, which, according to him, are put forward «under the pretext of European unity and solidarity.» Relations between Turkey and Greece sharply escalated after On August 23, when, according to Ankara, during the performance of Turkish F-16 NATO tasks in the airspace over the Aegean Sea, the fighters were «captured by the radar» of the S-300 air defense system of the Greek Air Force stationed on the island of Crete. The Turkish authorities have stated that they intend to raise the issue of Greece's pursuit of its military aircraft at the NATO level. relations between Turkey and Greece, President Erdogan criticized the position of Brussels on this issue. The head of the Turkish state called on the EU to invite Greece to dialogue with Ankara on a bilateral basis, and not to support the «illegal initiatives of Athens under the pretext of European unity and solidarity,» Anadolu agency reports.Turkish The leader also added that «recent events in the world show Turkey's indispensability for Europe.» «Events in the world show that Turkey is indispensable for the European Union and the European region,» he said. The head of state noted that the participants of the European Political Community summit held in Prague highly appreciated Ankara's mediating role in resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Turkey plans to organize talks between Russia and the West on Ukraine
