World Bulletin / News Desk

The director of the Greek Ministry of Defense's War Museum was removed from office on Saturday following a statement by Turkey declaring its disappointment on the promotion last week in the museum of a book penned by one of the leaders of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

A Greek version of Murat Karayılan's book, “Bir Savaşın Anatomisi” (Anatomy of a War), was promoted on Wednesday at the museum in Athens. The book, originally published in 2011, was recently printed in Greece.

According to a statement released by the Greek Ministry of Defense, the director of the museum, Maj. Gen. Panagiotis Lazos, was replaced by Brig. Gen. Panagiotis Kaperonis as a result of a decision by Defense Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos.

Turkey had said that a book launch for militant Karayılan in the Greek capital and the display of his book at the Defense Ministry museum was an unfortunate development in terms of counterterrorism.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke over the phone with his Greek counterpart, Dimitrios Avramopulos, on Thursday and expressed disappointment over the incident, according to a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday.

Avramopoulos said he shared Davutoğlu's disappointment and dismissed reports that promotion of the book was condoned by the Greek government. He also said action was being taken against officials of the museum who appear to be responsible for the book promotion as part of an investigation into the incident.

The Foreign Ministry statement further underlined that Turkey attaches great importance to the improvement of its relations with Greece.

Karayılan is wanted by Turkish authorities and Interpol for his role in the militant PKK.