Not only Russia and Ukraine, the increasingly strained relations between Greece and Turkey.
The Turkish President’s recent statements are disturbing Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which sent another warning to the Greek government, which was accused of having stationed some weapons received from the United States on the islands of Lesvos and Samos. Islands to remain demilitarized under the agreements.
violated contracts
Turkey’s allegations are serious: Greece is said to have handed over military vehicles to Turkey demilitarized islands the Aegean. The Turkish news agency Anadolu reported this in the past few days, citing military sources and even claiming to have a video showing armored vehicles in action on the islands of Lesbos and Samos.
If the allegations of Turkey should they prove true, we would be faced with a serious fact, because Greece would have violated international law: the two islands would have to remain demilitarized. According to Turkey, Greece is using weapons received from the United States. Specifically, these are two ships that would have transported 23 tactical armored vehicles to Lesvos and 18 to Samos between September 18 and 21.
In this matter, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriacus Mitsotakis He urged Turkey to return to the path of dialogue. “The other side (Turkey) may go on monotonously with their lies and threats, but they are alone in this game… They are not just going against Greece, they have Europe to deal with in its entirety and our NATO allies,” Mitsotakis commented on how reported by the newspaper Ekathimerini.
Erdogan’s warning
As the days passed, the tension continued to mount. Bad news for Italy as we are talking about very close states. Erdogan again called on the Greek government to stop the provocations. “We know what game they are playing and we know who is behind it,” the Turkish president said today. “Greece, if it wants to avoid one catastrophe because your people follow my advice and avoid certain behaviors. The armament of the Mediterranean islands is not very intelligent and does not belong to the relationship between two allies. Nobody likes provocations,” he added.
Unfortunately, these are not only the alleged weapons that have arrived on Lesvos and Samos. Also in September, Ankara’s Defense Ministry denounced the violation of the Turkish airspace by Greek planes, with up to 256 episodes being talked about in 2022 alone.
Also at the base of the frictions lies the jurisdiction over some islands of the Eastern Mediterranean. Then there are claims to the continental shelf, sea borders, airspace, rights to exploit energy resources off the coast of Cyprus.