Turkey defense minister accuses Greece of assaulting Turkish ship

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Sep 2022 17:42

Ankara affirms Athens opened fire against a Turkish commercial ship despite Erdogan's previous warnings that Turkey will retaliate against the Greeks.

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar arrives for a North Atlantic Council during a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Turkish minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, accused Tuesday Greece of having once again launched an offense against Turkey, this time opening fire on a commercial ship that was sailing in the Aegean, near the Turkish island of Bozcaada, not far from the Greek isle of Lemnos, as reported by Anadolu (the Turkish state-run news agency).

"Despite our goodwill efforts, unfortunately, Greece, our neighbor, continues to keep the tension high by the use of provocative actions and language. We are doing our best to counter all this," he said. "After this incident, politicians in Greece accused Turkey of an act of aggression. What else is this if not pure hypocrisy ?" added Akar.

WATCH: Greek coast guard has opened fire on a Turkish vessel. The Turkish cargo vessel had tussled with a Greek coast guard patrol off Turkey’s Aegean coast on Saturday.

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Turkish authorities accused the Greeks of establishing a military presence in the islands of the Aegean Sea in violation, according to them, of two peace treaties signed after World Wars I and II.

Under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Treaty of Paris, these islands were required to be demilitarized, hence any troops or weapons on the islands are absolutely prohibited.

In June, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Greece is breaking treaties by arming Aegean islands, warning that the islands' sovereignty will be called into question if they are not demilitarized.

It is also believed that the tensions between the two countries are linked to the 'veto' Greece imposed on the sale of F-16s from the US to Turkey. Greece has been lobbying actively in opposition to the deal, which has forced Erdogan to abandon contacts with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and accuse him of violating the reached agreements.

Recent updates reveal that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of destabilizing the region after radar recordings divulged to NATO exposed an S-300 air defense system tracking a Turkish air forces F-16 aircraft performing a reconnaissance flight 10,000 feet west of Rhodes Island on August 23.

On September 3, Erdogan issued a warning to Greece for violating Turkish airspace and stated that Greece would pay a "heavy price" if it continued to "harass" Turkish jets over the Aegean sea.

On the same day that the attack on the cargo ship took place, Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said today he was always open to meeting Erdogan.

"I consider recent statements by the Turkish president unacceptable. However, we will always try to keep communication channels open," he said during the Thessaloniki International Fair, adding that an informal EU summit that will be taking take place in early October in Prague might be an opportunity for this to happen.