At a time when relations between Turkey and Greece began to improve, a controversial statement about the “Aegean Islands” was issued by the Greek opposition.
After meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the NATO summit in July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “We spoke very clearly with Prime Minister Mitsotakis. My foreign minister spoke with his interlocutor on the issue of arming the islands. He speaks and will speak about these matters. Of course “This issue does not only arise from Greece; their friends in the White House and the lobby are constantly provoking them. As a result of this provocation, unwanted situations have occurred from time to time. He added: “I believe we will overcome this matter quickly.”
“Islands and territorial waters are our red line.”
While the issue is still on the agenda between the two countries, the new leader of Greece’s main opposition party, Syriza, Stefanos Kasellakis, made striking statements about arming the Aegean islands in his interview with journalist Maria Nikolziou at the Thessaloniki summit.
Kasellakis said that Turkey’s demand to demilitarize the Aegean islands is a “red line for Greece.”
“It is clear that the demilitarization of the islands, our national sovereignty and our unilateral right to expand our territorial waters are our red lines,” the Greek leader said, adding, “We should not signal to Erdogan that we are open to demilitarizing the islands.”