Greek Delegates Walk Out of NATO Parliamentary Assembly After Criticising Turkey

ATHENS (Sputnik) - The Greek delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) walked out of the session in Brussels on Wednesday after its criticism of Turkey was repeatedly interrupted by the body’s acting president.

Greek delegation walked out of #NATO Assembly in Brussels in protest at the stance of acting president Mesterhazy.

Delegation said that president had been systematically interrupting their speech about ‘Turkish violation of international law’, leading them to withdraw in protest pic.twitter.com/kar8WKo0TQ

— EHA News (@eha_news) February 19, 2020

​The cross-party delegation said in a statement they tried to explain to fellow assembly members that Turkey’s security deal with the Tripoli-based Libyan government and its drilling in Cypriot waters were in breach of rules, only to be cut short by the acting president of NATO PA, Attila Mesterhazy.

"The acting president systemically interrupted our speeches and questions and stopped us from presenting our views… We concluded the presentation and the delegation left in protest against the president's stance", they said.

This comes as Greek and Turkish top military officials are holding a series of meetings in Athens in an effort to agree trust-building measures that they hope will reduce the risk of accidents and stop the already simmering tensions between the two countries from escalating.