Greece will pay a “high price” if it continues to violate Turkish airspace, said Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Turkey raises its voice. Greece will pay a “high price” if it continues to violate Turkish airspace, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Saturday September 3. The latter also reproaches the Greeks for “harass” Turkish planes in the Aegean Sea.
Last Sunday, Ankara claimed that Turkish planes on a mission in this area had been targeted by Greece’s S-300 air defense system, and denounced a “hostile action”. “Hey Greece, look at history. If you continue, you will pay a high price”said the Turkish president during a meeting in the Black Sea region. “We have one word for Greece: don’t forget Izmir”referring to the city in the Aegean that the Greeks call Smyrna.
Greece’s occupation of Smyrna, to which it was awarded by a late World War I treaty that Turkey never acknowledged, ended when the Turks retook it in 1922. “Your occupation of the islands [de la mer Egée proches de la Turquie] does not bind us in any way. When the time comes, we will do what is necessary. We can suddenly arrive at night”he launched, using a formula often used when he spoke of launching an operation in Syria.
Athens accuses Turkish planes of flying over Greek islands close to the Turkish border, and the dispute between the two enemy neighbors results in frequent patrols. Ankara for its part denounces a presence of troops on these islands contrary, according to Turkey, to the peace treaties signed after the First and Second World Wars.
In June, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that if Athens continued to send troops to the islands, Ankara would challenge Greek sovereignty. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cut off dialogue with Greece after accusing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of leading a campaign against US arms sales to Turkey.