Ankara says the move undermines minority education rights, while Greece says the schools have only been temporarily suspended due to low student enrollment and can reopen if numbers increase.

The Greek Foreign Ministry responded to recent Turkish remarks, stressing that the Muslim minority in Thrace is defined as religious under the Treaty of Lausanne and emphasizing equal citizenship rights for all members.

Ankara on Wednesday revisited claims of discrimination against members of the Muslim minority in Greece's Thrace province, whom it calls "Turkish", saying they are not given the right to elect muftis - who are appointed by the state, as happens in Turkey

How Turkey’s religious networks, political channels, minority influence and energy arrangements operate within Bulgaria, and why their combined impact poses a strategic challenge for European sovereignty