Greece’s Foreign Ministry issued a firm response on Tuesday, January 14, to remarks made by Devlet Bahceli, leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party and government partner of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Bahceli had claimed that the Dodecanese Islands were “stolen” from Turkey and stated that “having the Dodecanese live without Turkey is clearly unreal,” emphasising that Turkey would never relinquish its “sovereign rights in the Blue Homeland.”
📌 Announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding statements made by a Turkish official on the status of the Dodecanese Islandshttps://t.co/F1P0gI3Odh
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) January 14, 2025
The Greek Foreign Ministry reiterated that the status of the Dodecanese is governed by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, which formally transferred the islands to Greece. The ministry stressed that, as a sovereign state, Greece would not relinquish its right to self-defence, as outlined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
“All the more so since Greece is threatened with war (casus belli) in case it exercises a right deriving from its sovereignty in accordance with International Law,” the statement added.
The Greek Foreign Ministry also called for responsibility and prudence, asserting, “Maintaining peace requires prudence and a sense of responsibility, not hostile statements. Issues pertaining to sovereignty lie outside the scope of any discussion and any revisionist views are categorically rejected.”
