The head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlut Cavusoglu, returned this Wednesday to threaten to invade the Greek islands if Athens continues to refuse to demilitarize them, as demanded by Ankara.
Cavusoglu — who even threatened that Turkish troops “could suddenly invade during the night” — warned that Ankara could also “challenge Greek sovereignty” with different strategies.
Asked about the possibility of conducting military exercises on the islands of Rhodes and Lesbos, Cavusoglu reaffirmed that “the ball was in Greece”.
The words of the Turkish foreign minister were spoken during a meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Bogdan Aurescu, in which he stated that “Athens is responsible for the increase in tension” between the parties.
“Greece, despite the circumstances, is taking counterproductive measures for its security. It is militarizing the islands. Therefore, it is not possible to remain silent on this issue. It is Greece that is breaking the rules,” the chief of Turkish diplomacy underlined. .
“That’s why our president says we can invade at any time,” Cavusoglu explained, referring to a recent statement by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Greece and Turkey have been contesting territories in the Aegean Sea since the 1970s, with tensions rising in recent years, despite the diplomatic efforts of the European Union and NATO (to which both countries belong), which sought to avoid a confrontation between the two countries. two countries.
In recent months, Ankara has insisted on the need for Athens to demilitarize several islands, with lingering threats of military invasion of these areas in the Aegean Sea.
Source: DN
