The rhetoric that led her Greece and Turkey on the brink of the opening conflict, against the general climate of Greek-Turkish relations in recent months, the leader of of the General Staff of the Turkish Navy, Erzumed Tatlioglu.

As reported by SKAI’s correspondent in Istanbul, Manolis Kostidis, in his speech at the Naval Academy in Gialova, the Turkish admiral spoke again about the demilitarization of the Greek islands, questioned the sovereignty of Greek islands and expressed his dismay at Greece’s weapons programs and the presence of the US, NATO allies, in the region.

“Instead of making efforts to resolve these issues, Greece is constantly engaging in activities that increase tension. For
for example, it is gradually increasing its defense budget. From France, buys 4 Belharra class frigates. Was going to buy 18, increased by 6 more, and buys 24 Rafale aircraft. The US has become our neighbor to the west. They have a big base in Greece at the moment”, he said initially and continued:

“There are islands with demilitarized status. 23 of these islands are demilitarized, 19 of them are militarized. We have islands and islets whose sovereignty and ownership are disputed. They try to show them as their own by arranging visits to them as if they were their own islands. On the one hand they try to present an appropriate environment. They try to dictate their own strategies. Greece increased its western territorial waters to 12 miles in 2020. He is trying to give this message. If I get the chance, I will increase it to 12 miles in the Aegean as well.”