Greece has rejected renewed Turkish claims that several Aegean islands must remain demilitarised, following Ankara’s criticism of Athens deploying air defence systems in the region.
Responding to remarks by Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lana Zochiou said Turkey’s claims were unfounded.
“Unilateral claims regarding the demilitarisation of the Aegean islands are unfounded and have been repeatedly rejected in their entirety,” she said.
Turkey objected after Greece deployed a Patriot missile battery on the island of Karpathos as part of heightened air defence measures amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Zochiou stressed that the legal status of the eastern Aegean islands is defined by the Treaty of Lausanne, the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits and the Treaty of Paris.
She noted that Turkey is not even a party to the Treaty of Paris and said the agreements “leave no room for doubt regarding the status of the islands.”
“Greece’s defensive stance is non-negotiable. The state of hostilities in our wider neighbourhood necessitates the country’s necessary defensive preparedness,” she added, urging restraint amid the risk of wider regional escalation.
Earlier, Keceli said that statements violating what Turkey considers the demilitarised status of the islands were “unserious, unfortunate and untimely,” arguing that treaties governing the region place the eastern Aegean and Dodecanese islands under non-military status.
Source: AMNA
