ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye will not hesitate to utilize all means to protect its rights and interests, as he called on Greece to refrain from provocative actions and violations, criticizing Athens for escalating tensions in the Aegean.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara on Monday, Erdoğan said Türkiye is closely monitoring Greece’s provocative actions and violations. He noted that Greece is being “dragged into a swamp with military buildups.” The president reiterated that Greece is not at Türkiye’s level and is not equal politically, economically or militarily and the military buildup will not help Athens to reach Türkiye’s level.
“We will not hesitate to utilize all available means to protect our country’s rights and interests against Greece, whereby necessary,” the president said.
“Greek officials, who exploit policies for political gain, will be held accountable,” Erdoğan said, adding that foreign military buildup throughout the country should disturb Greeks, not Türkiye.
Greece deployed armored vehicles to the Aegean Islands with non-military status, contrary to international law, reports said Sunday.
According to information received from security sources, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) performing mission flights in the Aegean detected movement and determined that two Greek landing craft were on the way to Lesbos and Samos.
It was revealed that the ships in question delivered 23 tactical-wheeled armored vehicles to Lesbos and 18 tactical-wheeled armored vehicles to Samos. –Agencies
