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A Pentagon spokesperson has called on Türkiye and Greece to engage in dialogue to ease tensions in the Aegean Sea, while avoiding to comment on a diplomatic protest from Ankara about the issue.
"Greece and Turkey are both very important NATO allies. We would encourage both sides to continue to engage in constructive dialogue to ease potential tensions. But beyond that, I don't have anything further to provide," Brigadier General Pat Ryder said at a press conference yesterday (September 27).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 26 issued protest notes to the ambassadors of Greece and the US because of the deployment of US-provided armored vehicles to the Aegean islands with non-military status as per the treaties of Lausanne and Paris. It asked the two countries to "end violations."
Earlier, Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) had released footage obtained from army drones purportedly showing the deployment of the vehicles on the islands of Samos and
When asked about "an increasing criticism in Ankara" that the US military deployment in Greece's east contributes to the escalation between the two neighbors, Ryder said Türkiye is an "incredibly important NATO partner and ally but I'm not going to engage in diplomacy from this podium."
"We'll continue to work closely with our NATO partners, to include Turkey, and certainly I'd encourage you to reach out to the State Department for any kind of official US response," he added.
A day before, Ned Price, the spokesperson for the US State Department, had also called on both sides to resolve disagreement diplomatically.
Erdoğan's statement
Following the diplomatic protests, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized the two countries, accusing Greece of "provocation."
"The occupation-looking military buildups of foreign countries all over Greece should, in essence, disturb Greek people, not us," he said after a cabinet meeting.
"We are well aware of the real intentions of those who provoked and unleashed Greek politicians against us to hinder our program of building up a great and powerful Türkiye.
"However, this is a dangerous game for the Greek politicians, the Greek state, the Greek people, and those who use them as puppets." (AEK/VK)
