Greek FM Dendias slams Turkey’s missiles strike threat

Greece’s foreign minister has lashed out at Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to strike Athens with ballistic missiles.

“It is unacceptable and universally condemnable for threats of a missile attack against Greece to be made by an allied country, a NATO member,” Nikos Dendias said Monday, arriving in Brussels for a European Union foreign affairs meeting.

“North Korean attitudes cannot and must not enter the North Atlantic Alliance,” he said.

Threatening Greece with a missile attack by a NATO ally is both unacceptable and utterly condemnable. North Korean-style attitudes cannot and must not be allowed to enter into the North Atlantic Alliance. (statement upon arrival at the #EU #FAC). pic.twitter.com/OJwHxnFqZU

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) December 12, 2022

Speaking during a town hall meeting with youths in the northern Turkish city of Samsun on Saturday, Erdogan said Turkey has begun making its own short-range ballistic missiles called Tayfun, which, he said, was “frightening the Greeks.”

“[The Greeks] say ‘it can hit Athens,’ said Erdogan, whose comments were aired late Sunday.