Outrage as Turkish authorities stop Greek governor of Central Macedonia entering the country

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has demanded an explanation after the governor of Central Macedonia was prevented from entering Turkey.

A serious incident between Greece and Turkey occurred in the Turkish port of Izmir on Sunday, November 6. It involved Apostolos Tsikikostas, a prominent member of the ruling New Democracy party and governor of the Central Macedonia region, whose seat is in Thessaloniki.

Tsikikostas arrived by ferry at the Turkish port of Izmir, where, as an EU official, he was supposed to preside over the 13th Euro-Mediterranean general assembly (ARLEM). As he was about to disembark the Turkish authorities stopped him from getting off the vessel without offering any reason.

According to the Greek media, Tsikikostas was subsequently forced to wait at least six hours on the ferry. The politician eventually gave up and returned home. This provoked a strong reaction from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It promptly asked its Turkish colleagues for a full explanation as to why Tsitsikostas – who is the vice-president of the European Committee of the Regions, of which ARLEM is a part – had been prevented from entering Turkey, as reported by novosti.rs.

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