ATHENS — The Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday refuted accusations by the Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry regarding educational matters in Greece's Muslim minority.

In a statement, the Greek ministry stressed that in contrast to Turkey, Greece continues to faithfully implement the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne.

It also noted that "the Muslim minority in Thrace numbers nearly 120,000 members, whereas the Greek minority in Turkey has shrunk to just 3,000. At the time of the Lausanne Treaty these figures were equal." It went on to add that "more than 100 minority primary schools will operate in Thrace in the 2021-2022 school year, compared to only 3 in Istanbul."

A school in Greece is suspended if it has under 9 pupils, the Greek ministry said, and this was true of 12 minority schools and 24 public primary schools suspended in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. "A fact highlighting equal and non-discriminatory treatment of minority students in Greece," it underlined.

The Greek Republic, a rule of law, fully protects and guarantees human rights and the freedoms of all its citizens, it said, while Turkey holds the second-worst position for not enforcing 643 rulings issued by the European Court of Human Rights.