Turkey includes US in the frame
Ankara lodges demarches with Greek and American envoys regarding military on Greek islands
Turkey is placing the US along with Greece in the frame of escalation in the Aegean, as demarches sent to the embassies of both countries in Ankara claim that the US armored wheeled vehicles being transported to the Eastern Aegean violate their allegedly “demilitarized” status.
At the same time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched more threats, saying that “all means at our disposal” would be used against Greece, while also noting that Athens’ moves are dictated by Washington.
Greece rejected the Turkish demarche, which alleged that it was violating international law through the presence of armored military vehicles at border islands. In particular, it claimed that the presence of tanks or other heavy military vehicles on the islands of Chios and Lesvos in the eastern Aegean were a violation of the islands’ demilitarized status.
The Greek ambassador underlined that Greece’s positions have been thoroughly presented in the two letters to the UN secretary-general, Greek sources noted, and added that Greece fully respects its obligations arising from the Treaty of Lausanne. Moreover, they added, Ambassador Christodoulos Lazaris told Turkish officials that Greece is not the country threatening its neighbor with a casus belli nor has it amassed the largest landing fleet on its shores, as Turkey has done.
Lazaris pointed out that Turkey continues to violate Greece’s sovereignty with its continuous airspace violations and its flights over Greek territory.
A few hours later, Erdogan said, “We are watching as a bad example the policies of our neighbor Greece, which smell of provocation.”
“As I always say, Greece is neither of our level nor equal to us in political, military, economic terms.”
Irked by the presence of the US military bases, Erdogan claimed that “there can be neither freedom nor development nor an honest attitude when one hides under the skirts of others.”
“Foreign military buildups all over Greece in the form of ‘occupation’ should not bother us, but in fact the Greek people,” he said.
Political analysts believe Ankara is systematically seeking to build a narrative on the issue of the militarization of the Greek islands.
On Saturday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that “[the Greeks] are militarizing the islands with demilitarized status in violation of the treaties. This situation gives us the right of self-defense and makes the sovereignty of the islands controversial [debatable].”
A day after Turkey’s Defense Ministry released photos taken by Turkish drones of Lesvos and Samos.