Tensions are yet again flaring up between Turkey and Greece, as Turkey is a persistent provocateur. This time the tension is over the Greek presence in the Aegean Islands.
“These islands are Greek territory but according to international law, Athens cannot place soldiers there.” However, Turkey has been routinely bullying and threatening Greece, leaving Greece with no choice but to move to defend its sovereignty. Now Turkey is crying foul over the situation it created.
At the end of August, Erdogan restated repeatedly his goal of a revived Ottoman Empire. In June, he threatened Greece, and warned it “to stay away from actions that will result in regret, just as they did a century ago.”
Turkey’s ongoing provocation and vendetta against Greece recently prompted EU’s current president, the Czech Republic, to rebuke Turkey for not only threatening Greece, but also for claiming that “Kurdish terrorists have been training in Greece.” Two longtime Erdogan obsessions are Greece and the Kurds, both of which are forced to act in self-defense.
A couple weeks ago, “Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias asked NATO, European Union partners and the United Nations to formally condemn what he described as ‘outrageous and increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials.’”
Experts are warning that Turkish-Greek tensions threaten to disrupt NATO unity, as both countries are NATO members. Turkey, however, does not belong in NATO, and should long ago have been thrown out.
“Tensions after Turkey accuses Greece of militarising Aegean islands,” Euronews, September 29, 2022:
It’s with great fanfare that the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, attended the naming ceremony of a newly built warhsip – Vlahakos.
The goal was to send a clear message to Turkey after numerous days of tensions and threats between both nations over Greek military build up on the Samos (1.3km from Turkey) and Lesbos (15km fron Turkish coast) islands.
Without naming Turkey, Mitsotakis said during the press conference: “(History) has taught that whoever violates borders is punished. There is no place for imperial visions in the 21st century, and would-be local bullies have no place.”
In response to Ankara’s accusations of Greece sending military vehicles to the Aegean islands, Athens alleged Turkey conducted illegal military drills near its borders.
The Greek Prime minister claimed that “[Greece’s] borders are blue and not gray” and stressed that the strengthening of the Armed Forces is a priority for the government.
Greece and Turkey have feuded for years over maritime borders in the Aegean and east Mediterranean seas.
After a brief calm in March, tension has been rising steadily between the two neighbors for several months.
In mid-September, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of “occupying” the Aegean islands.
These islands are Greek territory but according to international law, Athens cannot place soldiers there….
