Pangalos: "We destroyed Ottoman heritage"

Theodoros Pangalos, former Greek Deputy Prime Minister, criticized Greece for destroying the Ottoman heritage and expressed his disappointment with Greece's failure to build a mosque in Athens. Prime Minister Erdogan had raised the issue during the meeting with his Greek counterpart, Antonis Samaras, in Qatar last week and said that if the Greek side accepts the offer, Turkey could finance the building of a mosque in the city. Pangalos responded Erdogan’s proposal to finance a mosque to be built in Athens, in his article which is published in Greek daily newspaper To Vima. "We are highly indifferent to other civilizations," said Pangalos, adding that there is only a few mosques remained from the Ottoman heritage. Pangalos also praised Turkey for protecting the churches in its territory, saying, "On the contrary, we see the existence of churches in use in Turkey." Pangalos also wrote that during his term as foreign minister and deputy prime minister he supported the construction of a mosque in the capital, as Muslims were asking for that.