The Turkish leader believes that military bases on the Greek islands are not directed against Russia, but against Turkey.
The conflict between Turkey and Greece is experiencing a new escalation. Ankara claims that Athens is violating international law by developing weapons on several islands in the Aegean Sea. During a major military exercise last week, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened serious consequences. He had previously threatened war over a dispute with Greece in the Mediterranean. Athletistic telling details.
“Turkey will not give up its rights to the Aegean”
When Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO was interrupted, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, shortly before the summit in Madrid, scheduled for the end of June, also opened a “second front” against the allies, who announced the militarization of Greece and attempts to change the status quo in the region of islands in the eastern Aegean Sea.
Speaking at a meeting with Turkish youth in Van province on Sunday, Erdogan began speaking about the goals of Greece’s planned deployment of four new NATO bases on its territory, agreed upon during the Prime Minister’s recent trip. of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the United States. .
“When we asked them why you were doing these bases, they replied:” Against Russia. “And what have you done for Ukraine against Russia? Their words are full of lies. The West cannot be trusted, especially when it comes to their politics, ” – said the Turkish leader.
He expressed the same idea last week at a press conference in Ankara following talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “So far, nine US military bases have been set up in Greece. Whom are they deployed against? They say they are against Russia. But we will not buy into it,” Erdogan said.
Another weighty statement, allowing the possibility of a war between Turkey and Greece, was made by the Turkish president at the end of last week, speaking at the Ephesus 2022 military exercises, the largest in recent years, in Izmir.
“Turkey will not give up its rights in the Aegean and will not restrict the use of the powers granted to it by international agreements if necessary. I’m not kidding, it could lead to disaster,” he said.
Erdogan also criticized the North Atlantic Alliance. “Conflicts and potential threats in our region show that NATO needs unity and solidarity more than ever. At such a critical time, we regret that strategies have been adopted in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus that threatens the rights and interests of our country, “he said.
The Greek minister at the economic forum in Davos said that after his meeting with Erdogan in March, Turkish military aircraft flights on Greek territory had become more frequent, and said that “he would raise this issue at every opportunity until to change Turkey’s behavior. “
In recent months, the two countries have repeatedly accused each other of airspace violations. At the same time, they talk about “baseless” accusations and “provocative violations.”
And on a visit to Washington, Mitsotakis urged U.S. authorities not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and to keep the ban on Turkey’s participation in the next-generation F-35 fighter procurement program.
The ban came after Ankara acquired the S-400 air defense system from Russia in 2019. However, the Joe Biden administration is now considering revoking it.
After the Greek prime minister’s statements, the Turkish president said Mitsotakis was “gone” for him. “I will never allow myself to meet with him. We will continue our journey with worthy politicians,” Erdogan replied.
The representative of the Greek government, Ioannis Ikonomu, replied that his country would not enter into a dispute over the Turkish leadership and that Mitsotakis defended Greece’s rights and international law.
“I think we will talk, because we need to talk. I am not harboring resentment, but we will defend the Greek positions, relying on the confidence that the right is on our side,” Mitsotakis himself replied. , which made it clear that he had no intention of giving up.
The disputes between Turkey and Greece are concerned, in particular, the status of the islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, which, according to the agreements in Lausanne and Paris, have been handed over to Greece on the condition that they be demilitarized.
In Ankara, they said that because of Athens ’course of deploying weapons there, they would question Greece’s sovereignty over the islands.
“Once again we warn Greece, as we did a century ago, to stay away from dreams, rhetoric and actions that will be regrettable, and come to your senses,” Erdogan said.
He added that Turkey would not renounce rights in the Aegean and would not withhold powers under international agreements to arm the islands if necessary.
On June 9, the Turkish president warned that attempts to use the islands with non -military status in various exercises and involve third countries, including NATO members, would end in disaster. Erdogan believes Greece is putting pressure on the Turkish minority living in Western Thrace, Rhodes and Kos.
In Athens, they replied that no one in the modern world could agree on the revision of the accepted borders of nations.
“No one in the third decade of the 21st century can agree with despotic revisionism that threatens geopolitical balance and accepted boundaries. History is not rewritten because someone arbitrarily constructs it in their mind,” he said. – Prime Minister.
The Greek side rejects such Turkish concerns and considers them unfounded according to law, history and facts. In addition, for Athens, arguments about the “relationship” of Greece’s sovereignty to the islands in the Aegean Sea with declared obligations for their demilitarization are unconvincing.
The head of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, said that Turkey violates Greek airspace more than forty times every day, therefore, in principle, they do not need such allies.
“We feel weird with an ally [по НАТО]which threatens us with war if we decide to exercise one of our legal rights under international law to extend our territorial waters beyond six nautical miles. A threat of war from one ally to another? I don’t want to have such allies, ”Panagiotopoulos said.
Relations between Turkey and Greece have always been tense. Especially since 1974, when military fighting divided the territory of Cyprus, and the northern part of the island remained under Ankara’s control.
The next major round came in 2020, when Turkey began exploration for gas fields off the coast of Northern Cyprus. It is detailed in the material that Turkey threatens war.
Territorial disputes over the islands and shelves of the Aegean Sea have revolved around conflicting contradictions between Turkey and Greece for years.
According to international maritime law, the territorial waters of a state are no more than 12 nautical miles. In the Aegean, due to the proximity of the islands to the coast of the mainland, they are in some places six nautical miles or less.
Athens was talking about their rights to expand the borders, and the Turks were suppressing them, because otherwise the Greeks would have approached the borders of Turkey.
For a military battle, Turkey, which has the second largest army in NATO after the United States, has all the capabilities and accumulated experience. Last week, the exercise was held in Ephesus in the Aegean region of Turkey with the participation of representatives from 37 countries.
Until now, countries have been prevented from open conflict by common NATO membership. But in the Greek press in recent days they write that the confrontation could be a military plane.
“Who can say with certainty that Erdogan will not commit a military provocation in the Aegean – to divert attention from the problems inside the country, where elections are about to be held, and outside of it, where he threatened to break up? What explains this daily increasing tension – the desire to gain more points domestically – or is there another plan for showing strength? ”, wrote Proto Thema.
The publication believes Ankara’s rhetoric is a wake-up call for Greece-“you have to realize in time what Erdogan was capable of when he fell into despair.”
The Protagon portal fears things could escalate this summer.
“The Turks have decided to openly question the status quo in the Aegean … A new breeding ground of tension may emerge … And this is against the background of the fact that NATO and the Russian navy are also present in the Aegean. related.to the war in Ukraine.Is it possible to control this kind of crisis? The answer is simple: to a certain extent, because the Ankara issue is fraught with very serious risks.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.