Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Greece has no business commenting on Turkey's defense purchas...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Greece has no business commenting on Turkey's defense purchases, and called it a mistake for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to oppose Turkey's acquisition of F-35 jets from the United States. Speaking at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey never commented on Greece's own weapons purchases and expects the same courtesy in return. "Mr. Mitsotakis should not make such a mistake. We made no comment about the defense systems he bought. He can buy and sell whatever he wants," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey has every right to acquire the jets. On the casus belli issue that Mitsotakis recently raised, Erdogan's response was strikingly dismissive. He claimed that the vast majority of his own people don't even know what casus belli means, and suggested neither side should burden its citizens with the issue. Instead, he called on Greek leaders to sit down and resolve disputes directly, saying Aegean issues are "primarily a matter for leaders." Erdogan also addressed Trump's pending decision on the F-35 sale, saying only "you will see what happens," while personally thanking Trump as a "very special friend" for his handling of the matter. On NATO burden-sharing, Erdogan insisted Turkey is already well ahead of its commitments, citing its defense spending as a percentage of GDP, its new role commanding an air defense unit in Estonia, and a recently signed defense cooperation agreement with the United Kingdom. He also pushed for the removal of restrictions on defense trade between NATO allies and warned that EU defense initiatives must complement NATO rather than duplicate it. #Greece #Turkey #NATO