Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly defended Hamas on Monday, claiming that more than 1,000 members of the terrorist group from Gaza are being treated at hospitals in his NATO nation. 

At a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, Erdogan took issue with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis having categorized Hamas as a "terrorist organization." 

"If you call Hamas a 'terrorist organization,' this would sadden us," Erdogan said, according to Reuters. 

"We don't deem Hamas a terrorist organization," he reportedly said. "More than 1,000 members of Hamas are under treatment in hospitals across our country." 

The press conference followed a two-hour face-to-face summit with the Greek prime minister. 

their own land."

Greece, like most Western states, considers Hamas a terrorist organization, but Erdogan repeated his reference to the group as a "resistance organization." The leaders were meeting for the fourth time in the past year in a bid to strengthen a normalization process.

A Turkish official who spoke on condition of anonymity later told Reuters that Erdogan meant to refer to Palestinians from Hamas-controlled Gaza, not members of Hamas. 

"President Erdogan misspoke, he meant 1,000 Gazans are under treatment, not Hamas members," the official reportedly said. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a press conference on May 13, 2024, in Ankara, Turkey. (Yavuz Ozden/ dia images via Getty Images)

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Stressing the ties between the two countries, Mitsotakis said the deal allowed Turks and Greeks to "get to know each other, which is an important step." Similarly, Erdogan referred to the Turkish-Muslim minority in Greece's Thrace region as a "friendship bridge between the two communities."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.