The Turkish Defense Ministry issued a statement after its weekly briefing today, criticizing the deployment of military forces on the islands in the eastern Aegean Sea by Greece, defining the action as a “violation of the demilitarized status of the islands in question“, the Anadolu Agency reported, quoted by BTA.
The ministry's statement comes amid reports of the deployment of a “Patriot“ air defense system on the island of Karpathos (in the southeastern Aegean Sea) following the drone attack on the British air base Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus and the deployment of F-16 fighter jets on the island of Limnos (in the northeastern Aegean Sea) with the aim of securing Bulgaria's airspace against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East.
“The violation of the demilitarized status is a fundamental violation that does not legally lead to the unilateral termination of the demilitarized status. This position is also expressed by the highest levels of our state“, the Ministry's statement states, recalling that the islands of Limnos and Karpathos were “given to Greece” on condition that they be maintained in a demilitarized status in accordance with the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the Treaty of Paris of 1947.
“Greece's attempts to violate the status of the islands in contradiction with the duly concluded agreements create both illegality and harm to our good-neighborly and allied relations. Such situations between NATO allies are unacceptable against the backdrop of the ongoing security crises in our region“, the Ministry further emphasizes The Ministry, at the end of their statement, stated: “We do not accept Greece's attempts, which do not serve the true purpose and aim to turn the crises in our region into an opportunity“.