Athens: The Greek government has warned Turkey against continuing what it considers to be the military provocation of its neighbour in the eastern Aegean.“For us, every island, every small island, every rocky island is home.
We have the duty to protect them whenever necessary,” Deputy Defence Minister Nikos Chardalias told the Greek daily newspaper To Proto Thema on Monday, referring to the sharp increase in Turkish fighter jets making incursions into Greek airspace in recent months.
Ankara has since last year begun disputing Greek sovereignty over several islands in the eastern Aegean due to the fact that they have been militarized, in contravention of multiple treaties that stipulate the islands must remain demilitarized.
For its part, Athens has justified its militarization of the islands by pointing out the stationing of landing troops on the Turkish west coast, which it sees as a direct military threat.
Chardalias said that it should be clear to Ankara that Athens wants peace, but that it was also prepared to combat “terrorist practices” by military means.
