Erdoğan, Mitsotakis trade barbs over Aegean dispute

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed Greece's Prime Minister Mitsotakis during a speech at the "Quran Reading Contest Award Ceremony" in Ankara yesterday (October 4).

Referring to refugees being pushed back in the Aegean Sea, he said, "We are watching how the Greek ferries bury those poor innocent people in the Aegean Sea, how they bury them in the Mediterranean, right? While we are watching, is the world making a sound? No."

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He further commented on the strained relations between Türkiye and Greece over the Aegean Islands, Cyprus, and Libya.

Türkiye-Greece relations are getting tenser over the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea. Ankara has accused Athens of arming demilitarized islands in the Aegean Sea. In September, the US lifted its defense trade restrictions for Southern Cyprus for the 2023 fiscal year, which, according to Türkiye, could start an arms race.

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Ironically, Ankara promised in the same month to reinforce its military presence of 40,000 troops on the island. Furthermore, Türkiye signed on October 3 a preliminary deal with Libya on energy exploration. Greece and Egypt reacted that they would oppose any activity in contested regions of the eastern Mediterranean.

On the same day, Mitsotakis met with members of the US House of Representatives in Athens, and said Türkiye's rhetoric is getting "more and more aggressive."

The questioning of Greek sovereignty was deemed unacceptable by the PM. He stressed that Greece "will not accept any violation of its sovereignty or sovereign rights." He also noted that Greece's bases it's position on international law and international maritime law.

Greece-US Relations are at the moment "extremely good" according to Mistotakis, who referred to the military cooperation between the two countries. A thorn in the side of President Erdoğan, who accused Mitsotakis of asking for help from America against Türkiye, asserting, "Whatever you do, we will always do what is necessary, we are ready to do it." (WM/VK)