Athens rejects Ankara's accusations.
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan< /strong> stated that Greece had “captured” the demilitarized islands in the Aegean Sea, and threatened a tough response.
“Turkey will not be stopped by the fact of Greece's occupation of the islands. When the time comes, we will do what is necessary. It can happen unexpectedly, any night,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish leader claimed that Greece is actively militarizing the occupied islands, and called on the Greek military not to provoke the Turkish ones.
“If you continue to provoke, you will pay a high price. I want to say only one thing to Athens: don't forget about Izmir!” – he added, addressing Greece.
This is how the President of Turkey hinted at the events of 1919, when Izmir was occupied by the Greek military, and soon they were driven out of the city by the troops of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. p>
Greece responded by saying that it would not be like the “outrageous daily queue” of Turkey's statements and threats.
“We will inform our allies and partners about the content of provocative statements so that it becomes clear who is undermining the cohesion of our alliance in a dangerous period (Greece and Turkey are members of NATO – ed.),” the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Ankara claims that the Aegean islands were ceded to Greece under treaties of 1923 and 1947 on the condition that it not station troops there. Turkey will challenge Athens' sovereignty over the islands if the agreement is violated, said the head of the Foreign Ministry Mevlut Çavuşoğlu.
Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated this position Ankara is “absurd”.
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