Turkey threatens NATO partner Greece and recalls historic defeat
Created: 2023-01-09 16:08
By: Erkan Pehlivan
Tensions in the Aegean continue.
Turkish Defense Minister Akar threatens Athens and recalls their defeat by the Turks in 1922.
Ankara - Between the NATO partners Turkey and Greece, the fronts remain hardened.
Both countries are at odds over islands in the Aegean, natural gas deposits in the Mediterranean and the future of the divided island of Cyprus.
The recent threatening gestures from Ankara are heating up the conflict even further,
writes
fr.de.
Erdogan threatens rocket attack
Most recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Greece with an attack if Athens "does not rest".
Greece is nervous because the "Tayfun" rocket developed by Turkey could also hit Athens, Erdogan said at a meeting with young people in Samsun in northern Turkey in December.
If Greece does not rest on the islands in the Aegean, "if you try to take something away from (us) here and there, then of course a country like Turkey will not stand by and do something." Erdogan demands of Athens the demilitarization of several islands.
In addition, both countries repeatedly accuse each other of penetrating enemy airspace with fighter jets.
Greece should remember defeat in history
Now the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has joined the discussion and is threatening the neighboring country.
Greece should remember 1919 when it tried to occupy Anatolia.
Greece finally lost the war against the Turkish army in 1922.
The Greek population was then expelled from Izmir.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar © dpa/Turkish Presidental Press Office
“We say to the Greeks, 'learn from history, don't get into trouble, don't start new adventures (...)'.
We will not give in to the agitation of Greece, accept their fait accompli and trample on our rights,” Akar said during a visit to the Navy.
The Turkish military would currently do everything to ensure the safety of the 85 million citizens.
Turkey is currently conducting its most intensive military operations and maneuvers in recent years, Akar said.
(Erkan Pehlivan)
