The European Union’s unquestioned support of Greece in disputes with Türkiye regarding rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean is both against the EU acquis and international law, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
The Foreign Ministry in a statement said that the Czech Foreign Ministry and other EU institutions targeting Türkiye hold no meaning or value for Ankara.
"This attitude pampering Greece, encourages non-solution, no solution and supports Greece's pursuit of maximalist demands," it continued.
"It is a complete disgrace that those who made these statements ignore Greece's violations, harassment and threats against our country, its provocative actions and rhetoric, and remain indifferent to its actions and practices against international law," the statement added.
It further said that if the Czech presidency or the EU wants to promote dialogue, Türkiye-EU relations should essentially be spared the abuse of the narrow-minded Greek and Greek Cypriot veto, which undermines EU solidarity and common interests.
The ministry said that Türkiye would continue to protect its legitimate rights in the Aegean and Mediterranean.
The EU on Monday voiced concern over increasing tensions between neighbors Ankara and Athens after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Greece of occupying demilitarized islands in the Aegean and said Türkiye was ready to "do what is necessary" when the time came.
Historic rivals while also fellow members of NATO, Türkiye and Greece have been at odds over issues ranging from overflights and the status of Aegean islands to maritime boundaries and hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean, as well as ethnically split Cyprus.
"The continuous hostile remarks by the political leadership of Turkey against Greece ... raise serious concerns and fully contradict much needed de-escalation efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean," Peter Stano, spokesperson for European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
"Threats and aggressive rhetoric are unacceptable and need to stop," he added.
"The EU reiterates its expectation from Türkiye to seriously work on de-escalating tensions in a sustainable way in the interest of regional stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all EU member states," Stano said.
The strong rebuke came after the Czech Republic, which currently holds the presidency of the European Council, criticized Erdoğan's warnings to Greece over its increasingly hostile and aggressive actions against Türkiye.
The Czech Foreign Ministry had termed Erdoğan's remarks "unacceptable," claiming that Prague wants to use its term presidency to "foster EU-Türkiye dialogue" but such comments were "extremely unhelpful in this regard."
Ankara has recently accused Athens of arming the demilitarized Aegean islands – something Athens rejects – but Erdoğan had not previously accused Greece of occupying them.
Greece reacted saying: "We will immediately inform our allies and partners regarding the content of the provocative statements of the last few days."
Türkiye in recent months has stepped up criticism of Greece stationing troops on islands in the Eastern Aegean, near the Turkish coast and in many cases visible from shore. These islands were required to be demilitarized under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Treaty of Paris, so any troops or weapons on the islands are strictly forbidden.
The increasing rhetoric also comes after Greece recently targeted Turkish jets with its Russian-made S-300 air defense system in several incidents.
It was reported last week that Turkish jets on a reconnaissance mission, flying in international airspace, had been harassed by the Greek defense system stationed on Crete. Athens rejects the claims.
Türkiye is planning to submit to NATO and its allies the radar logs showing how a Greek S-300 air defense system harassed Turkish F-16 jets during a mission in international airspace, sources said last week.