Athens accuses Ankara of violating Greek sovereignty, disinformation and “aggressive” rhetorical escalation

Sep. 23 () –

The Prime Minister of Greece, Kiriakos Mitsotakis, has accused Turkey of violating Greek sovereignty, of organizing a “massive disinformation campaign” and an “aggressive” “rhetorical escalation” in the framework of tensions in the Aegean, as well as as instrumentalizing migratory flows.

“Is this behavior compatible with a well-established international system, a UN member state, bound by the UN Charter and principles?” he questioned, adding that such actions “undermine peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean”.

Despite the fact that he has recognized that Turkey, as a member of NATO, has played an important role as a mediator in the Ukrainian conflict, in addition to having facilitated an agreement for the export of cereals, he has explained that it plays “a destabilizing role” in the Mediterranean , the Middle East and the Caucasus.

“Turkey seems to have a strange fixation with my country. Their language is increasingly bellicose. They threatened that they would come ‘at night’, if they so decided. This is the language of an aggressor, not a peacemaker,” he insisted.

In doing so, he has accused Ankara of constructing “a narrative of false claims” about the Aegean, stretching from the Imia islet crisis in the mid-1990s to the present day.

“He has been threatening Greece with a ‘casus belli’ if we decide
exercise our sovereign right to expand our territorial waters in the Aegean,” he said, adding that this “absurd” challenge by Turkey has gone as far as questioning the Greek sovereignty of Greek islands such as Chios and Rhodes.

Mitsotakis has made it clear that claims over the sovereignty of the Greek islands are “unfounded and unacceptable”, while alluding to “red lines”: “Questioning the sovereignty of Greek territory crosses a red line for all Greeks”, he has sentenced.

“Turkey has been instrumentalizing migrants since March 2020, when it actively encouraged and facilitated tens of thousands of
people to cross illegally into Greece to put pressure on the
European Union”, he also indicated, adding that “Greece will continue to protect its borders”.

Regarding the role of Turkey, he stressed that, although “Greece will not be intimidated by anyone”, there is “another way forward”. The Greek prime minister has thus addressed the Turkish leaders and people, ruling that “Greece does not pose threats” to Ankara.

THE CONFLICT IN CYPRUS

Mitsotakis, in addition to condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and accusing Russia of “destabilizing democratically elected European governments”, also recalled that the conflict between Moscow and kyiv is not the only one of concern.

“For nearly 50 years, Cypriots have lived on a divided island the result of an illegal invasion and military occupation. Ankara and the Turkish Cypriot leadership, isolated and alone in the
international community, continue to insist on unacceptable demands
for a two-state solution,” he explained.

In this sense, Mitsotakis has declared before the General Assembly of the United Nations that Athens “firmly” supports the efforts of the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to resume the negotiations for an “acceptable” agreement.

“But the international community must not ignore the illegal Turkish attempts, in particular in the fenced area of ​​Varosha, as well as new and repeated violations of the sea areas and airspace of Cyprus,” he said.

It must be remembered that Cyprus has been divided in two since in 1974 the Turkish Army occupied the northern part – 36.2 percent of its territory – after a coup in Greece and in fear that the island would be annexed for the latter country.