Ankara renews invasion threats
Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu warns of action if Greece does not demilitarize islands
In a renewed escalation, Ankara has threatened to invade the Greek islands if Greece does not demilitarize them.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said if Athens does not comply with the demand, then Turkey will either challenge the sovereignty of the islands or will “suddenly arrive overnight.”
He made his statements at a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu, insisting that Athens was to blame for tensions.
Asked about the military exercises conducted by Greece on Rhodes and Lesvos, Cavusoglu claimed that Athens is upping the ante.
“Greece is taking negative steps for our security, despite the circumstances. It is militarizing the islands. Therefore, it is not possible to remain silent in the face of these steps. It is Greece that is violating the status of these demilitarized islands. Either Greece will step back and respect these treaties or we will do what is necessary. That is why our honorable president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] says, ‘We can come overnight all of a sudden,’” Cavusoglu said, stressing that Turkey will continue to take the necessary measures both in the legal field and in international organizations, especially the UN, and in the field. “We will take all the necessary precautions. Greece must remember the following: He who sows the wind, reaps the whirlwind. If you do not want peace, we will do what is necessary. Suddenly one night,” he warned.
Romanian Foreign Minister Aurescu attempted to tell Cavusoglu that the differences between Greece and Turkey should be resolved through “peaceful dialogue.” To no avail, as Cavusoglu, visibly irritated, claimed that “Greece says it absolutely does not want to negotiate these and other issues.”
“[Greece] specifically says in every meeting that it does not want to talk about the status of the demilitarized islands. Well, if this cannot be solved through dialogue, how can it be solved? You said international law. You can go to an international court. You can go to court. And here is the International Court of Justice,” the Turkish minister said.
Addressing his Romanian counterpart, he said, “Since you are an international law lawyer, you know these matters much better.”
“We offered to take it here [to court]. Greece opposed this proposal, Greece expressed reservations about the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice regarding the status of the demilitarized islands,” Cavusoglu added.
