A spokesperson of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding the publication in Die Welt and statements by Greek government spokesperson Stelios Petsas.
Hami Aksoys said: "The news published today in Die Welt about the eastern Mediterranean and refers to our country is a complete creation of fantasy."
"The accusations made against our country, by the Greek government spokesperson based on this article, which is a creation of fantasy, show that this country is far from the reality of the eastern Mediterranean and is a result of its provocative policy that does not follow international practice and law," he continued. "Instead the Greek authorities are dealing with these lies, let them stop the steps that increase the tension in the region."
Yesterday, German newspaper Die Welt made shocking allegation that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked his generals to provoke a war by sinking a Greek ship or shooting down a Greek fighter jet.
In an article titled “Erdogan’s calculated war,” Die Welt wrote that Erdoğan ordered his generals to sink a Greek ship but not inflict many casualties. The Turkish generals refused to do so and the next idea was to shoot down a Greek jet as “the pilot could get out of the plane and save his life.
In other words, the Turks want to provoke an extremely hostile situation, but without human casualties. These plans were rejected by the Turkish generals, according to the Die Welt, otherwise it is very likely that we would be at war in the Eastern Mediterranean.
These shocking revelations made by Die Welt, quoting Turkish military sources, shows just how desperate Erdoğan is to provoke a war with Greece as the Turkish economy rapidly declines.
Although Ankara denies the allegations made by Die Welt, it must be remembered that Turkey is one of the lowest ranked countries for media freedoms in the world, is the second most susceptible country surveyed on the European continent and its surrounds to fake news, has the most journalists jailed in the whole world, and 90% of media is government controlled.