Greece's ambassador to Turkey summoned over PKK concerns

ISTANBUL:

Greece

's ambassador to

Turkey

was summoned to the

Foreign Ministry

over concerns about the activities of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party in his country, according to the media. Turkish officials complained to Ambassador

Christodoulos Lazaris

about the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or

PKK

, carrying out propaganda, financing and recruitment in Greece, state run

Anadolu

news agency late Friday cited diplomatic sources as saying.

They also raised concerns about a recent demonstration near the Turkish Embassy in Athens by alleged PKK supporters and the safety of Turkish nationals in Greece.

The PKK has waged a 38 year insurgency against Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead. It is designated a terrorist organisation by the US and the EU.

The activities of groups in Sweden and Finland that Turkey considers to be terrorists is one of the main objections by Turkey to the Nordic states joining

NATO

.

Ankara's concerns threaten to hold up their bid to join the alliance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey and Greece are divided over a number of issues such as maritime borders in the

Mediterranean

and Aegean Seas.

On Wednesday, Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

said Ankara had broken off from high-level talks with Athens.

The mechanism for resolving disputes between the traditional rivals was resumed last year after a five-year break.