Ankara slams deletion of Victory Day tweet by NATO 'unacceptable'

Ankara on Friday criticized NATO's land command for deleting its tweet that marked Türkiye's Victory Day after demand by Greece, calling it "unacceptable."

"It is unacceptable that NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) removed the social media post celebrating Aug. 30 Victory Day and the Turkish Armed Forces Day in a way that would mean handing over its will over the selfish and spoiled behavior of another NATO member," the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement, referring to Greece.

It said the official name given to Aug. 30 by Türkiye is "Victory Day and Turkish Armed Forces Day," adding: "This is the will of our nation and cannot be changed."

The ministry said the deleting of the tweet upon the "unfounded request" of a country that does not hesitate to sabotage NATO missions by putting radar locks on Turkish fighter jets, "has greatly damaged NATO's corporate identity and prestige."

"Whether Victory Day is written or not, the fact that we won victory in 1922 cannot be changed," it added.

LANDCOM on Tuesday tweeted a post to mark Türkiye's 100th Victory Day, which commemorates the resounding defeat of the occupying Greek armies at the hands of Turks in the Battle of Dumlupinar in 1922, and deleted it after Greece lodged a complaint with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

On Thursday, however, LANDCOM tweeted a new post to congratulate Türkiye on the occasion of the Victory Day, saying: "We are thankful to have Türkiye as our host nation."