Angelos Syrigos' remarks on the Treaty of Lausanne cause controversy

A controversy erupted after New Democracy Party MP Angelos Syrigos claimed that some articles of the Treaty of Lausanne (especially the one concerning the scope of the military presence in the Eastern Aegean islands) are outdated.

The main opposition drew attention to the contradictions arising from Syrigos' rhetoric.  

Kathimerini newspaper quoted ND MP Sirigos as saying that 97 per cent of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which defined the borders of Greece, Bulgaria and Türkiye, had expired, while the provision on borders remained in force.

Sirigos' remarks were met with harsh reactions from the far right as well as SYRIZA and PASOK.

YDP MP Angelos Syrigos, an expert on international law, told ERT: "I say outdated because the only thing left of the Treaty of Lausanne that concerns us today are the provisions on border restrictions... It is a 101-year-old text. There are provisions on how to pay the Ottoman debt, how to exchange prisoners, what to do with the cemeteries of the Allies and what to do with the companies contracted in the Ottoman Empire. These are all in the past."

Regarding the demilitarisation of the islands, Syrigos said: "I am saying that this is outdated and that is why we are not discussing it. We have excluded it. This is the official position of Greece since 1995," he emphasised.

"In response, Turkey says that the Lausanne Treaty on this issue has not lost its validity and refers to the provisions on the demilitarisation of the islands," Syrigos said.

SYRIZA CRITICISES SYRIGOS

The main opposition SYRIZA party said that Angelos Syrigos' statements and the government's stance raised "serious concerns".

SYRIZA President Stefanos Kasselakis, who stated that Syrigos' statements contradict the official discourse of Greece, described Syrigos' statements as a "gift" to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.