Turkish defense minister lashes out at Greece, again
Ankara will “never accept” any extension of Greece’s territorial waters, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has warned, accusing the neighboring country of “hostile acts.”
“We will never accept an extension. You are talking about a Turkey with a coastline of more than 1,800 kilometers, and Turkey will enter international waters with your permission? Who would accept that,” Akar told the Turkish daily Hurriyet when asked to comment on Greece’s reported plans to extend its territorial waters.
Claiming that Ankara expects “peace, friendship, dialogue, good neighborly relations and cooperation” and “respects the borders, rights and laws of its neighbors,” Akar said that “despite all our well-intentioned, realistic and sincere approaches, Greece continues to escalate tensions with its unlawful attitude and provocations.”
Urging the Greek political and military leadership to “abandon their intransigent and provocative attitudes for domestic political purposes,” the Turkish defense minister said that they should “learn from history, especially from what happened on September 9, 1922,” referring to the burning of Smyrna.
He went on to accuse Greece of harassing Turkish fighter jets in the context of NATO exercises, saying that “this hostile attitude shows that Greece has become so arrogant that it disregards the basic principles and values of NATO.”
The alliance, he said, should take Athens to task over its “hostile acts” and “spoilt attitude,” adding that “all kinds of unjust and unlawful actions by Greece have been and will be responded to.”
Akar also expressed Ankara’s annoyance with the United States and its deepening defense cooperation with Greece, noting that it used to have five bases in the country and now has nine. “It has also been said that Alexandroupoli is being planned as an LNG and logistics center… However, defense and security are also a matter of surveillance and prevention. Can’t [the bases] be used some other way? Yes. So we are watching and taking measures. Defense and security is an area where mistakes cannot be mended,” he said.
Taking aim at the Greek government in particular, Akar said that “those who have established their political existence on hostility towards Turkey are back on the stage with provocative actions and rhetoric.”
