Greek government: Turkey will not assist Athens’ mosque project

A Greek government official denied on Feb. 7 that there was any agreement with Turkey regarding a mosque project in Athens. 

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Constantinos Tsiaras told Greek deputies during a parliamentary meeting that the mosque in Athens would be built entirely with the country’s own financial resources and was not a specific topic on the agenda of Turkish-Greek diplomacy. 

“We have told the Turkish [officials] that they continuously try to bring into question this subject in line with their policy in recent years of protecting the rights of Muslims throughout the world… The Greek state has taken this initiative aiming to address the needs of the Muslim population residing in or visiting Athens by offering a place of worship,” said Tsiaras in response to a parliamentary question from the far-right Golden Dawn party.