\n<\/p>\n
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan said Greece must \u201cturn back from the wrong path\u201d and halt the militarization of Aegean islands that Ankara considers bound by demilitarized status. He spoke to journalists on 2 September 2026 on the flight home from Kyrgyzstan after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreece needs to understand this once and for all: T\u00fcrkiye has no designs on anyone else\u2019s territory, but it will not allow anyone to trample on its rights,\u201d Erdo\u011fan said. \u201cGreece should turn back from the wrong path it has taken and stop militarizing the islands that have demilitarized status. History is a very good guide for those who learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what Turkey would do if the arming continued, he said Ankara would \u201cdo what is necessary.\u201d He added that anyone who reads Turkey\u2019s \u201ccalm and prudent approach\u201d as weakness is making a \u201cgrave mistake,\u201d that ignoring treaties helps no one, and that good-neighborly relations should be the basis of ties with Athens.<\/p>\n
The comments followed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis\u2019s public line that regional defense plans would not change despite Turkish objections.<\/p>\n
The legal argument<\/strong><\/p>\n Turkey\u2019s case rests on the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty. Ankara says eastern Aegean islands and the Dodecanese\u2014transferred from Italy to Greece after World War II\u2014were placed under a demilitarized regime and that new bases, air-defense systems, or UAV facilities violate that status.<\/p>\n Greece rejects that reading. Athens argues that self-defense is non-negotiable, that Turkey is not a party to the 1947 Paris Treaty in the way Ankara claims, and that the security environment has changed since 1974 and amid current regional tensions. Greek officials have denied plans for a permanent drone base<\/em> on Rhodes while saying drones are used from existing facilities as needed.<\/p>\n Recent flashpoints<\/strong><\/p>\n In late August, Turkey\u2019s Defense Ministry objected to reported UAV activity on Rhodes and called Greece\u2019s relocation of Patriot batteries from Karpathos to Crete a \u201cpositive step.\u201d Greece has also submitted a Maritime Spatial Plan under EU rules; Ankara says parts of it encroach on Turkish maritime claims and will not have legal effect for Turkey.<\/p>\n The islands dispute is a long-running Aegean issue, alongside airspace, continental shelf, and energy projects. Erdo\u011fan\u2019s remarks restated a standing Turkish red line rather than announcing a new operational step.<\/p>\n