While Ankara repeatedly calls on Athens to “behave” and steer clear of provocation, Greece continues to cling to just that. The Greek edition of CNN reported that the country’s navy would stage “Lightning,” a naval exercise, on Jan. 18 in the Aegean Sea.
The news report says “Lightning” is “a response to Ankara’s provocations” and to demonstrate that any Turkish move in the sea dividing the two countries is “under the watchful eyes of the navy.”
Territorial rights in the Aegean Sea have long been a point of contention between the two countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan often warns Greece not to engage in provocations in the sea, while Ankara occasionally calls for dialogue to resolve problems.
"Don't mess with us. We have no quarrel with you in the Aegean,” Erdoğan said at a public event last month. "They did some crazy things in the Aegean again. Of course, we also did what was necessary," Erdoğan said, referring to Greek planes trying to interfere in a NATO training mission conducted in international airspace over the Aegean Sea. The president told officials to "do what is necessary ... if Greece continues to act out," repeating his warning: "We may come suddenly one night."
Erdoğan said Türkiye's recent ballistic missile test "scares" Athens. Türkiye test-fired its domestically produced short-range ballistic missile Tayfun (Typhoon) in October. The missile can hit a target at 561 kilometers (349 miles) in 456 seconds.
CNN Greece reported that the naval exercise will include frigates, missile boats, gunboats, submarines, aircraft and elite units of the army and scenarios for protecting energy installations and hydrocarbon mining platforms, as well as “attacks on enemy fleets and reclaiming seized territories.”
Türkiye and Greece are at odds over several issues, including competing claims to jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime boundaries, airspace, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus, the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea and migrants.
Relations deteriorated after Erdoğan said Mitsotakis "no longer exists" for him, when the Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis lobbied to block sales of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye during a visit to the United States, despite previously agreeing with Erdoğan "to not include third countries in our dispute." In May, Erdoğan cut ties with Mitsotakis and declared all other channels of communication between the countries closed.
The most recent incidents to have spurred tensions include two Greek coast guard boats opening fire on a cargo ship in international waters, continued pushbacks by Greek elements recorded by Turkish UAVs, and previous harassment of Turkish fighter jets on a NATO mission by Greece’s Russian-made S-300s.
Ankara accuses Athens of illegally militarizing Greek islands in the Eastern Aegean and questions Greece’s sovereignty over them. There is also a dispute over the exploitation of mineral resources in the Aegean.
On Monday, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to protecting its rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean and the rights of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), once again warning Greece. During his visit to a domestically made submarine still under construction at the base of Submarine Command in the northwestern Turkish province of Kocaeli, Akar said “important, comprehensive missions” were scheduled for Turkish naval forces shortly. “We never let our rights be contravened and we will not let them be violated in the future, either,” he said.
On issues between Türkiye and Greece, Akar highlighted the importance of peaceful means and dialogue to resolve them. He urged Greece to avoid discourse like “neo-Ottomanism, revisionism and expansionism,” and blame Türkiye for issues. “We see they are particularly resorting to these words to confuse political decision makers in the West and make Türkiye the culprit. We invite them to dialogue but they don’t accept it while defaming us at every opportunity with groundless accusations,” he said.
Akar said Greece should take “history lessons,” referring to what he called Greece’s attempt to invade Anatolia with “incitement of some countries” in 1919, at the end of World War I. “We call them not to spoil their interests for the sake of interests of other countries,” he said, noting that Türkiye was resolved to counter any fait accompli by Greece.
On claims that Greece was preparing to expand its territorial waters for the island of Crete from 6 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles, Akar said Türkiye would certainly not accept any claim beyond 6 miles. A similar attempt years ago faced Türkiye's strict opposition, and in 1995, the Turkish Parliament responded that it would be a "casus belli" if Greece expanded the territorial waters.
The minister also responded to remarks of some Greek officials that Türkiye lingered as a threat to Greece. “Türkiye did not threaten anyone, let alone Greece. Türkiye is a strong, reliable and efficient ally in NATO,” he said.
