Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos made provocative statements again on Sunday that may further raise regional tensions, saying that Greece can annihilate anyone doubting his country's independence.
Speaking in Athens on Greek National Day over the weekend, Kammenos threatened Turkey by asserting that Greece can crush anyone who endangers their national sovereignty. "In 1821, the Greek Mujahideen defeated the powerful Ottoman Empire. Those who think of the Great Ottoman Empire should remember 1821. We will defeat anyone who attempts to doubt our national sovereignty, as we did in 1821," he said.
Previously, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos also made a similar threat, saying that Greece will do whatever is necessary as their ancestors did. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed Pavlopoulos' statements at a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) provincial congress two weeks ago. "Those who want to refresh their memory should look at their recent history, and those who talk big should read a good history book instead of fairy tales," he said.
Meanwhile, conflicts are rising between the two countries as the Turkish Foreign Ministry underlined that the recent Greek attempts are concerning and the necessary precautions should be taken to ease the tensions.
Following the Foreign Ministry's statements, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım expressed that it would be more beneficial to refrain from tensions to have better bilateral ties. "In this framework, the chiefs of General Staff of the two countries will gather and mutually discuss the necessary measures to ensure tensions in the field do not escalate further," Yıldırım said.
Touching upon the nabbed Greek soldiers who allegedly crossed into the Turkish border by accident, Kammenos claimed that this detention is against international law.
