"I'm not kidding": Erdogan openly threatens war - and shortly afterwards shoots at the West

Created: 06/15/2022, 05:02

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

Turkey is attacking Greece with increasingly harsh statements.

In the dispute over the Aegean islands, Erdogan is now threatening war.

Izmir/Van — The mood between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea is becoming increasingly heated.

Citing international treaties, Turkey sees the stationing of Greek troops and weapons on the islands there as a major problem, calls for demilitarization and takes an increasingly confrontational stance.

During a large-scale military maneuver by the Turkish military, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened the neighboring country with war.

He accused Greece of not sticking to agreements.

At another event, Erdogan also targeted Western countries - they were "untrustworthy".

Turkey-Greece: Dispute over the eastern Mediterranean and islands in the Aegean

In Turkish-Greek relations, the maritime jurisdiction zones in the eastern Mediterranean and the islands in the Aegean are two issues that have plagued the region for decades.

The two countries cannot agree on which area in the Mediterranean is entitled to which country as an exclusive economic zone.

Now the Aegean islands are again coming more to the fore in the confrontation.

Turkey complains about the militarization of the islands and refers to international treaties.

According to the Turkish side, individual islands would have to be demilitarized.

Specifically, these treaties are the Treaties of Lausanne (1923), Montreaux (1936) and Paris (1947).

The treaties signed in Lausanne and Paris regulate which island belongs to which country.

However, the Treaty of Montreaux that arose in between was intended to partially replace the Treaty of Lausanne.

Turkey derives its disputed claims from this 1936 treaty, among other things.

The network of these contracts creates a complex legal situation with regard to sovereign rights in the East Aegean.

Turkey-Greece: The phase of calm is now followed by Erdogan's escalation - "I'm not joking!"

After near-extreme tensions in the summer of 2020, the last two years have been relatively quiet between the neighbors.

There were even signs of diplomatic rapprochement, with meetings at foreign minister and head of government level.

In recent weeks, however, Ankara suddenly sharpened its tone towards Athens.

The trigger was a speech by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the US Congress in May.

Without naming the country, he accused Turkey of acting against international law.

He called on the US to be cautious about arms sales to the region in view of the possible sale of F-16 jets to Turkey.

Outraged Turkey countered with its own account of moves by Greece, which the Turkish government sees as violating international law.

So Ankara opened the file on the Greek islands in the Aegean again.

Erdogan's foreign minister indirectly claimed the islands and questioned their sovereignty.

Amid the debate over the Aegean, the Turkish army also held a large-scale military maneuver called "Efes-2022" near the city of Izmir.

Land, air and sea forces were involved.

Turkish President Erdogan visited the maneuver last Thursday (June 9) and warned Greece of "catastrophic consequences".

The neighboring country must "avoid dreams, statements and actions that it would regret".

"I'm not kidding," emphasized the Turkish President and had the most important excerpts from his speech circulated on Twitter in English and Greek.

"Pull yourself together!" Was one of his messages in the tweets.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar at the Efes 2022 military maneuvers.

© IMAGO/XinHua

Turkey-Greece: Erdogan threatens Athens with a "high price" - the Turkish head of state rails against the West

At another event in the eastern Turkish city of Van on Sunday (June 12), Erdogan again addressed tensions with Greece.

He received the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis in Istanbul and they agreed that bilateral relations would now be continued without the involvement of third countries, Erdogan explained.

Within just a few weeks, however, the Greek head of government complained to the United States about Turkey.

"First of all, our nation is not to be trifled with," the Turkish president continued.

He threatened that Greece would "pay a heavy price" if it tried to "joke around" with Turkey.

In Van, Erdogan also targeted the entire west.

He referred to US plans to add four military bases to the existing five in Greece.

Turkey sees this as a targeted strengthening of Greece and thus as a threat.

"They say these bases are being built against Russia," stressed Erdogan, turning directly to the West with regard to the Ukraine conflict: "What did you do in Ukraine against Russia?

Were you able to stand by Ukraine, were you able to support Ukraine?” Western countries would lie about everything, Erdogan accused: “Western politics cannot be relied on.

You are not honest.”

Turkey-Greece: Athens reacts calmly to Erdogan's threats - Nato avoids taking sides

Greece almost takes Erdogan's statements as a clear threat of war, but has so far reacted calmly.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias emphasized at the summit meeting of south-eastern European countries in Thessaloniki that one does not want to contribute to the escalation by participating in "insulting statements, illegal and inappropriate demands and accusations".

His ministry also published 16 maps that are supposed to show “the extent of Turkish revisionism”, i.e. Turkish territorial claims since 1923.

The EU called on Turkey to behave "constructively".

The country must avoid "escalating steps and rhetoric" and stick to building "good neighborly relations."

NATO also took a stand.

Speaking to Greek news agency ANA, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Turkey and Greece to settle their differences in the Aegean and avoid any action or rhetoric that could escalate the situation.

However, he avoided taking sides directly in the conflict.

Precisely because of the threats, Athens is convinced that the militarization of the islands is the right decision.

Greece argues with the right to self-defense.

Numerous landing craft would be located on Turkey's west coast.

In addition, Turkish fighter jets would violate the airspace of the Greek islands, Athens says.

Many also suspect Erdogan's position as a step to distract from Turkey's difficult economic situation, including extremely high inflation.