Greek Solution, a hard right political party, is calling on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to cancel his planned visit to Turkey and high-level talks with the country’s president there following his decision to convert the historic Chora Monastery into a mosque12.
The Chora Monastery, a Byzantine-era church known for its exquisite mosaics and frescoes, has been a museum for decades before the recent conversion. The transformation has sparked international criticism, including from Greece, which has accused Turkey of “insulting the character” of a World Heritage Site1.
In a press release, Greek Solution highlighted a series of provocations by Turkey, including the desecration of the Chora Monastery, the “shameful” statement by a Turkish official Fidan about the “oppression of the Turkish minority” in Greece, and the inclusion of the controversial and expansionist “Blue Homeland” notion in Turkish school textbooks – an idea which Greece views as a direct threat1.
The party insists that these actions constitute an “imminent threat” as defined by Article 51 of the UN Charter, and that the Greek Foreign Ministry should demand an immediate reversal of Turkey’s actions.
Despite these tensions, Prime Minister Mitsotakis appears to be proceeding with his visit, a decision the Greek Solution deems dangerous, warning that it could amount to national concession and legitimise Turkish claims.