Don't mess with Turkey, President Erdogan warns Greece

Turkey will do what is necessary if Greece continues to act out, says the Turkish president.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Greece against provocations in the Aegean Sea, saying: “Don’t mess with us. We have no quarrel with you in the Aegean.”

“They did some crazy things in the Aegean again. Of course, we also did what was necessary,” Erdogan said at an event in the southeastern Mardin province on Saturday.

His remarks came after Greek planes tried to interfere in a NATO training mission conducted in international airspace over the Aegean Sea.

Greek planes tried to block the mission, the National Defense Ministry said on Saturday, adding that the Turkish Air Force gave them the “necessary response … and the NATO mission was successfully completed.”

The president said he has told officials to “do what is necessary … if Greece continues to act out,” repeating his warning: “We may come suddenly one night.”

Erdogan said Türkiye’s recent ballistic missile test “scares” Athens.

In October, Turkey test-fired its domestically produced short-range ballistic missile Tayfun (Typhoon). The missile can hit a target at 561 kilometres (349 miles) in 456 seconds.

Natural gas hub

About Ankara’s moves in the field of energy, Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin views Turkey as the ideal location for a natural gas hub.

“Putin said Russia can supply gas to Europe via Turkey and told us that we can decide the price,” said Erdogan.

“We agreed, and hopefully, it will be named TurkStream.”

Erdogan said Türkiye is also taking steps in the energy sector with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

He added that energy ministries would conduct preliminary studies before the three countries' leaders get together to develop a roadmap.

“The arrival of natural gas from Turkmenistan, especially through Azerbaijan, to our country will make us much more comfortable,” Erdogan said.