(MENAFN) According to reports, former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras argues in his memoir Ithaki that the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye, carried out by the FETO terrorist group, prevented Greek-Turkish relations from developing positively.

The book, covering his tenure from 2015 to 2019, includes a section on Greece’s foreign affairs.

Tsipras notes that prior to the attempted coup, relations with Türkiye were dominated by a constructive agenda. Having visited Türkiye three times in the seven months leading up to the coup, he said: “In my opinion, if the coup didn’t intervene, the 4th High-Level Cooperation Council (YDIK) meeting held in Izmir in March 2016 could have been an important turning point in Turkish-Greek relations.”

Recalling that he was on vacation when he learned of the coup attempt, Tsipras emphasized: “I was one of the first world leaders to call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and convey my support against the coup.”

Regarding the hijacking of a Turkish military helicopter by eight FETO members to the Greek city of Alexandroupolis on July 16, 2016, Tsipras explained that Greece was obliged under international law to grant asylum to the fugitives. Discussing his conversation with Erdogan, during which the Turkish president requested their extradition, he said: “I told him coup plotters are not welcome in Greece, but the Greek judiciary will make the final decision on their case.”

Tsipras added that the situation involving the eight fugitives remained a persistent source of tension in Greek-Turkish relations for at least two years.

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