Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has threatened Greece with “preventive measures” if Athens does not comply with demands to disarm the islands in the eastern Aegean. This post reports “Keep Talking, Greece“.
“Doesn’t it pose a threat to our country by placing a gun in front of our noses? Doesn’t that give you the right to defend yourself?” – quotes the publication of the minister’s words.
Akar accused Greece of “aggressive rhetoric” against Ankara, saying that the five-fold increase in the defense budget showed that the country was “doing something” against Turkey.
Also, according to the Turkish defense minister, Greece is doing “everything possible” to prevent the sale of weapons and military equipment to Turkey, including American F-16 warplanes and German submarines.
He also accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias of “using offensive rhetoric and aggressive actions” to disrupt “the potentially positive climate that could be created between the two countries”.
Former Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declarationGreece has recently deliberately violated the provisions of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, which made it possible to delineate Turkey’s land borders, guarantee the rights of the Turkish national minority in Greece, and confirm the demilitarized status of the coastal Greek islands.
According to Erdogan, Greece has recently been deliberately violating the provisions of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, especially with regard to the rights of Turkish national minorities.
He pointed out that Ankara cannot accept a situation “contrary to the principles of good neighborliness and commitment to agreements”.
Erdogan also announced that Turkey is ready to “make every effort to establish lasting peace and stability in the region and to secure the rights of the Turkish people”.