Minorities should be kept out of Türkiye–Greece tensions: Bartholomew
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew stated that Turkish and Greek minorities should not bear the consequences of tensions between Ankara and Athens, calling for these communities in both countries not to be held “hostage” to political disputes.
“In light of our own experience, I can say that it is not fair for the situation of minorities in both countries to be assessed according to the course of Turkish-Greek relations,” Bartholomew told daily Hürriyet in an exclusive interview published on June 12.
He emphasized that Greeks in Türkiye and Turks in Greece are not representatives of their respective states.
“No one should turn us into ‘hostages’ of political conflicts and calculations,” he said.
