Greece Recalls Ambassador to Azerbaijan

ATHENS — Greece has recalled its Ambassador to Azerbaijan following “the completely unsubstantiated and insulting allegations made by the government of Azerbaijan”, the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Following the completely unsubstantiated and insulting allegations made by the government of Azerbaijan regarding supposed tolerance on the part of the Greek state for preparation of terrorist actions, efforts to recruit terrorist fighters, and cyberattacks from Greek territory on Azerbaijan, in the context of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, a stern demarche was made to the Azeri Ambassador yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following the demarche, the Greek Ambassador to Azerbaijan, N. Piperigos, was summoned to Athens for consultations, by decision of Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias”, the statement says.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Larissa of the New Democracy Party, Maximos Harakopoulos, in a letter to the Speaker of the Greek Parliament, Costas Tassoulas, announced his departure from the Greek-Azerbaijani parliamentary friendship group “as an act of protest against the refusal of Turkey to stop the bloody attacks in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, despite the repeated calls of the international community, the participation of foreign mercenary jihadists from Syria and Libya in military operations, but also the negative rhetoric given by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Aliyev to the Greek ambassador in Baku, Nikolaos Piperigos, during the presentation of his credentials”

While accepting the credentials on September 4 from Greece’s newly appointed ambassador to Baku, Nikolaos Piperigos, Aliyev directly told the diplomat:

“I can tell you, and it is no secret, that Turkey is not only our friend and partner, but also a brotherly country for us. Without any hesitation whatsoever, we support Turkey and will support it under any circumstances. We support them [Turkey] in all issues, including the issue in the Eastern Mediterranean.”