Speaking at a ceremony in Türkiye's Aegean province of Izmir during the EFES-2022 military exercise, one of the largest planned drills of the Turkish army, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Greece is acting like it’s making touristic stops on Aegean islands,” and warned Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that such moves “will get you nowhere.”
“Some Greek politicians are trying to remain relevant with words and actions that are divorced from reality, contrary to logic and the law,” said Erdogan.
“Those who waste their country's resources, energies, and time with dreams that they can never afford will surely be held accountable before history,” he said, touching on Türkiye branding Athens’ arm buildup a waste of resource the Greeks can ill afford.
“On this occasion, we once again call on Greece to stop militarization of the (Aegean) islands with non-military status and to act in line with international agreements,” he said, underlining the point: “I'm not kidding, I'm serious.”
“Türkiye will not relinquish its rights in the Aegean Sea, nor will hesitate to use its powers stemming from international agreements,” he stressed.
On Greek moves in the Aegean, Erdogan warned Athens to refrain from “dreams and actions that will result in regret, just like a century ago” – referring to the 1919-1923 Turkish War of Independence, which pushed Greek forces out of Türkiye – and to “come to its senses.”
"Türkiye does not violate anyone's rights and laws, but neither does it allow the violation of its own rights and laws," Erdogan stressed.
