The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said on Wednesday that it “does not consider the sovereignty of Aegean islands to be in question.”
According to Greece’s state-run news agency AMNA, a spokesperson for the British foreign affairs ministry made the comment in response to a Greek reporter’s question about Turkey’s recent provocative statements about the Aegean Islands.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently warned Greece it would pay a “heavy price” if it continues to harass Turkish fighter jets over the Aegean and hinted at military action.
Speaking at an aerial technology festival in Samsun last month, Erdogan accused Greece of “occupying” islands in the Aegean Sea that have a demilitarised status.
“You occupying the islands doesn’t bind us,” Erdogan said. “When the time comes, we’ll do what’s necessary. As we say, we may come down suddenly one night.”
“Look at history, if you go further, the price will be heavy.”
At the time, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned the remarks but said he can’t imagine tensions with Turkey could ever escalate into armed conflict.
“I don’t believe [armed conflict] will ever happen. And if, God forbid, it happened, Turkey would receive an absolutely devastating response,” Mitsotakis said.
These ongoing tensions come at a low point in relations between the two NATO allies, who are separated by centuries-long enmity and contemporary disputes, including Aegean Sea boundaries and immigration.
