Greece rejected renewed Turkish demands that it demilitarize certain islands in the Aegean Sea, defending its right to protect its territory after Turkey’s foreign minister described the Greek military presence as a threat.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan revived the longstanding dispute Wednesday during an official visit to Syria, accusing Athens of violating treaty obligations governing the military status of some islands. His comments came as Greece and Turkey, both NATO members, have sought to preserve an improvement in relations after years of tensions over maritime boundaries, territorial waters, airspace and energy exploration.
“The militarization of islands that have demilitarized status constitutes a threat to us,” Fidan said, adding that Ankara had “very serious concerns” about the Greek military presence.
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Greece firmly rejected that argument.
The Greek Foreign Ministry said Athens determines its foreign policy “sovereignly and independently” and stressed that Greece, like any sovereign state, is entitled to provide for the defense and security of its territory.
Athens maintains that the legal status of the eastern Aegean islands is established by international treaties and rejects Turkey’s interpretation of provisions concerning their military status. Greece also says its defense measures must be viewed in the context of security conditions in the Aegean and its right to defend its territory under international law.
The dispute is one of the most enduring sources of friction between the neighboring countries. Turkey has for decades challenged Greece’s military deployments on some islands close to the Turkish coast, while Athens has consistently rejected Ankara’s demands.
Fidan said Turkey has raised the issue since the 1960s through bilateral diplomatic channels as well as at NATO and the United Nations.
“We call on our neighbor and ally Greece to fulfill its obligations arising from the treaties in a more mature manner, in accordance with the spirit of the alliance,” he said.
Fidan also suggested that Greece risked becoming an instrument of outside powers seeking to destabilize the region. Athens dismissed the assertion.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Panagiotis Giannakoulis said such claims bore “no relation to reality,” adding that Greece has demonstrated its commitment to regional and international peace and stability and poses no threat to another country.
Despite the sharp language, Fidan sought to separate the dispute from the broader effort to improve Greek-Turkish relations.
“We want to maintain good-neighborly relations,” he said, calling for the two countries to preserve the “positive atmosphere” developed recently.
Relations between Athens and Ankara have periodically deteriorated sharply over competing claims and interpretations of international law in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Recent diplomatic contacts have reduced tensions, with both governments emphasizing dialogue and seeking to prevent disagreements from escalating.
The latest exchange nevertheless shows that fundamental differences remain. For Athens, the question of defending Greek territory is an issue of sovereignty and national security. Ankara continues to argue that Greece’s deployments breach treaty restrictions.
Greece says those Turkish claims don’t alter its sovereign rights or its entitlement under international law to take measures necessary to defend its territory, leaving the Aegean dispute unresolved even as both governments seek a more stable relationship.
