The recent acquisition of French-made Rafale fighter jets, and in general the arming of the Greek Armed Forces that is in progress, continues to bother Turkey with its top officials like Defence Minister Hulusi Akar unable to hide their frustration.
Commenting on Greece's purchase of 18 Rafale fighter jets, Akar said in his attempt to devalue the acquisition that "there is no question of changing the power balance with three or five used planes."
This is in opposition to his Greek counterpart of Nikos Panagiotopoulos, who said that the "Rafale will sharply strengthen our air power."
Although Akar appeared in favor of dialogue with Greece, he accused the country of "aggressive rhetoric" in the Aegean Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean, while again raising the issue of militarisation of the islands.
He of course, once again, provided no examples of Greece's supposed "aggressive rhetoric."
"We always tell our Greek neighbours that we are in favor of finding political solutions to our problems through peace, calm and dialogue within the framework of the agreements that have been concluded," he claimed.
"But Greece has never given up on provocative statements and aggressive rhetoric," the Turkish Defense Minister commented, accusing Greece of "illegal" militarisation of Aegean islands and assuring that there is no threat from Turkey.
READ MORE: Turkish claims on demilitarising the Aegean Islands via Treaty of Lausanne are fake: Here’s why.
