Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara wants good relations with Athens but views Greece’s military presence on Aegean islands as a threat.
Speaking during a visit to Azerbaijan, Fidan said: “We don’t want Greece to become a tool in the hands of those who wish to destabilise the region and plunge it into chaos. We want to maintain good neighbourly relations.”
He added that Turkey has “very serious concerns on the militarisation of certain islands. They know that and we have communicated it.”
Fidan argued that Greece is violating international treaties by keeping troops on islands that he said have demilitarised status. “The militarisation of the islands that have a demilitarised status constitutes a threat for us,” he said. “Greece is trying to act in breach of its obligations under the treaties.”
Turkey has raised the issue since the 1960s at NATO and the United Nations, he said. “We invite our neighbour and ally to implement its obligations that derive from international treaties in a more mature manner, in the spirit of the alliance. Greece must not add another provocation to the numerous security challenges our region faces.”
The comments come amid long-running Greek–Turkish tensions over the Aegean and related security issues.
Greece’s position
Athens rejects Ankara’s claim. Officials say the status of the eastern Aegean islands is governed by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the 1936 Montreux Convention and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty — to which Turkey is not a party — and that Turkish demands for full demilitarisation are unfounded.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said Greece threatens no one but will accept neither threats nor instructions on how to defend its territory. After visiting Kastellorizo, Ro and Strongyli, he stressed that Greek restraint “must not be interpreted as weakness” and that Athens is ready to defend its territorial integrity and sovereign rights under international law.
The Foreign Ministry has called Turkey’s demilitarisation claims “unfounded” and said Greece’s defensive posture is “non-negotiable,” arguing that a military presence on the islands is consistent with the relevant treaties and the right of self-defence.
