The mayor of Kastelorizo, Greece’s most isolated island, has responded to the provocative video leaked on the internet showing Turkish military students swimming from their school to the island of Tuzla, a distance equal to Kastelorizo.
The distance of the island from the coast of Turkey is actually 1,950 nautical miles, a distance that is covered in a little over two hours by swimming.
According to the mayor of Kastelorizo, George Samsakos, the Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar “can say whatever he wants. We know these provocative games of Turkey and we have nothing to fear.”
“Akar made these statements on December 24 and on the 28th of the month they made the students swim to Tuzla to show us how easily they can cover this short distance.
“Well, they also have a video before the coronavirus pandemic when they were swimming on the occasion of a festival that they organised with a destination here on the island,” said the mayor.
“Every year before the coronavirus, the Turks organised a festival in which we also participated as the municipality of Megisti.
“Always on the last day of the festival, Turkish swimmers and ours swam this distance.
“In fact, in order to become absolutely safe, a boat from our port corps followed them to the border with Turkey and from there they received them as their own.
“Now what they want to prove with the current video only they know.
“We have nothing to fear.”
Millî Savunma Üniversitesi Deniz Harp Okulunda (DHO) eğitimlerine devam eden Harbiyeliler; “Planlı Açık Deniz Yüzme Eğitimleri” kapsamında, DHO İç Liman'dan 1.950 metre mesafedeki Tuzla Adası'na yüzerek gitti.@msuedutr pic.twitter.com/YMyXJTRbi9
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) January 1, 2022
The reaction of the mayor was provoked by the speech at the military academy, on Christmas Eve, by Akar.
He provocatively said that: “even a student of the Turkish military academy could go swimming to Kastelorizo” from the Turkish coast.
READ MORE: Turkey’s new provocation against Greece: Navy Students “Swim to Kastelorizo”
