The Turkish Navy has deployed at least five ships in the sea area between Greece and Turkey south of the island of Kasos in a provocation that has disturbed a period of detente in bilateral relations.
The deployment of the warships was under the pretext that the Turkish continental shelf had been violated.
The so-called violation – Turkey does not recognize that islands have a continental shelf – was caused by the presence of the Ievoli Relume, a research vessel flying the Italian flag, which is researching the sea for the future deployment of underwater sea cables for the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), the electricity connection between Crete and Cyprus.
Ankara had previously lodged diplomatic objections to the presence of Italian cable-layer Teliri as it was laying optical fiber cables.
Initially, Turkey sent two frigates and a corvette, while only one Greek ship, a gunboat, was present. The arrival of two Turkish missile cutters prompted the appearance of a Greek frigate.
Provocative rhetoric and Greece-Turkey relations
Another source of bilateral tension was created by a television appearance of Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, who was promoting the abilities of the advanced multi-role F-35 aircraft, which Greece has decided officially it will acquire from the US.
Referencing an old threat by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkish forces could appear “suddenly one night,” Georgiadis boasted that “one night you can appear in Ankara and destroy everything.”
“I’m not saying we’ll do such a thing, because we don’t want to, but when Erdogan says such things, I burst out laughing. You’ll come to Greece one night, with what? With your clunkers? Everyone knows that Turkey’s air force is a nullity, these past five years that Mitsotakis has governed.”
Georgiadis’ boasting was picked up by Turkish media, which said that “the Greek minister has crossed the line.”
Erdogan angry Greek minister called Turkey “invader”
Earlier, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara denounced the remarks of the Greek Minister of Defense Nikos Dendias that branded Turkey as an “invader”, ahead of the anniversary of the Turkish 1974 invasion.
“From time to time, we see some populist figures in Greece attempting to undermine relations between the two countries. We want to improve relations with Greece as good neighbors. But certainly, this does not mean that we should remain silent in the face of such nonsense,” President Erdogan was quoted on Sunday by Turkish media as he commented on Dendias’ remarks.
“I told (Mitsotakis) that there won’t be remarks that will irk each side and he said he shared the same view. However, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias unfortunately had something different in mind.
“Obviously, he was unaware of our talk with Mitsotakis and spoke ill (of Turkey). Calling Turks ‘invaders’ is an immoral, tactless expression. Mr. Mitsotakis should put this minister of his in his place,” Erdogan added.
