Athens handed Turkey a note of protest in connection with statements by high-ranking Turkish officials expressing doubts about its sovereignty over the Aegean Islands, Greek television Sky reported.
The note strongly disapproves of Athens. According to Greece, such statements are not only unproductive, but also a sign of an escalation of Turkey’s provocative behavior.
Greece notes the illogical position of Turkey, since Ankara constantly refers to the law of the sea, while itself violates it.
According to diplomatic sources, the Greek Foreign Ministry instructed the Greek embassies in the European Union, NATO and the UN Security Council to clarify the situation with the escalation of Turkish provocations. Washington will also be briefed on the situation.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu recently warned that he would call into question the sovereignty of the Aegean if Greece did not abandon their militarization. According to Cavusoglu, Athens violates the terms of the status of these islands in the Lausanne Peace Treaty (1923) and the Treaty of Paris (1920).
According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, Greece’s allegations about the militarization of the islands due to the threat from the Turkish side are unfounded, BTA reports.
“Our door remains closed to any threat, but our window is open to dialogue based on international law,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told lawmakers earlier this week.