ATHENS — It is paradoxical, if not downright amusing, for Turkey to be telling Greece it needs to respect minority rights, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday.

Responding to statements by the Turkish foreign minister over the Muslim minority schools in Thrace, NE Greece, the ministry pointed out that history will remain the most objective witness of Turkey's attempts to wipe out all minorities in its territory during the 20th century.

In terms of the educational choices of the Greek state, the ministry said, there is no discrimination among Greek citizens and the focus is on quality education and the interests of the students themselves.

Specifically referring to the Muslim minority, it said that there are 115 primary schools operating specifically for the minority in Thrace. "By the way," it said, in Istanbul in 1955 "there were 54 Greek primary schools in operation, while today there are only 3. Does the Turkish leadership wonder why?"