BERLIN – Berlin does not consider it right to threaten or make unfriendly statements about neighbours, the German federal government’s deputy spokesperson Wolfgang Buchner said on Friday when asked about the statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding Greece.

“We always make it clear that we do not consider it right to make threats or unfriendly statements against neighbours. The government makes this clear at every opportunity. The foreign ministry also always makes this clear,” Buchner said, while adding: “I do not believe, however, that we should talk a great deal about every phrase that is uttered.”

He had been asked, specifically, what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz thinks of Erdogan’s recent threats toward Greece, such as his statement that Turkey “will come during the night…”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Athens next Wednesday

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Athens on Wednesday, October 26, directly from Paris, Deputy Spokesperson of the Federal Government Wolfgang Buchner announced on Friday.

According to Buchner, a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will take place on Thursday, when a joint press conference is planned for 12:00. A working lunch will follow.

As Buchner noted, bilateral and current economic and European issues are on the agenda of the meeting. Scholz will depart for Berlin in the afternoon of the same day.