Greece supposes that Ankara has chosen the option of retaliation by intensifying its attacks on Greece, cutting off communication channels, repeatedly claiming to demilitarize the islands, intensifying its attacks on the airspace and resuming the tactics of issuing illegal navigational texts. Turkey is likely to use the tool of the migrants again and engineer the flow of migrants to the land border and the Aegean islands. Athens seeks to internationalize tensions with Turkey and warns that Turkey’s approach could have destabilizing consequences for the region. From Greece’s point of view, Turkey has intensified its aggressive activities and weakened good neighborly relations. This behavior, in the context of the new geopolitical atmosphere and the situation, especially the crisis after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, not only complicates the bilateral understanding, but also carries the risk of further instability in the region.

The Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Michotakis says he has informed his European counterparts the issue of escalation of challenges by Turkey and urged that if Turkey continues to use this tactic, the issue will be discussed at the June meeting and explicitly stated in the summit’s final statement. Greece will never resort to escalating tensions and insults, he said, adding that strong allies are with them. Numerous flights over Greek territory are completely unreasonable, he noted, stressing that Turkey should understand that Greece has allies such as the European Union and the United States and will use its alliances in the national interest.

During his one-day visit, the Greek Prime Minister recently visited several Greek islands in the Aegean, which are on the list recently referred to by the Turkish Foreign Minister as islands that Turkey will bring their sovereignty under question. He emphasized that any questioning of Greek national sovereignty will be answered decisively. He said Greece always responds to the provocations of its neighbors with composure and confidence, because international law and their allies are with them. Given the international situation and at a time when international peace and stability are being tested, the last thing the region and the world need is not to create a new tension between Greece and Turkey. He noted that Greece is not seeking to escalate tensions with Turkey, but at the same time it has prepared itself for all scenarios.

Greek military circles warn of the danger of repetition of the 2020 crisis in bilateral relations with Turkey, claiming that Greece is facing threats from Turkey this summer, and that Turkey is likely to destabilize Greece by instrumentalizing migration through collective guidance of immigrants to land borders and islands and forest fires across the country. They also estimate that Turkey is likely to try to replicate the summer 2020 crisis by sending reconnaissance ships to areas that Greece considers part of the continental shelf and its exclusive economic zone.

From Athens’ point of view, Turkey by insisting on the issue of demilitarizing the Aegean islands, pursues objectives such as “keeping alive” the theory of the existence of “ambiguous areas” in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, “unilaterally expanding the agenda of bilateral disputes beyond the issue of maritime delimitation”, “electoral exploitation”, “playing the victim in the eyes of the international community”, “introducing Greece as a country that violates the provisions of international treaties by militarizing the islands”.

The European Commission, in its support for Greece, said it was aware of the recent increase in Greek airspace being violated by Turkish fighter jets and drones. The flight of military aircraft over residential areas in Greece is a violation of international law, and Turkey is obliged to commit to upholding good neighborliness, international agreements, the peaceful settlement of disputes and, if necessary, appealing to the International Court of Justice. Turkey must put an end to all threats and actions that harm good neighborly relations and respect the sovereignty of all EU member states over their maritime and airspace.

From the American point of view, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. Greece and Turkey, as the two NATO allies, should resolve their differences through diplomacy by cooperating and maintaining peace and security in the region. Germany also has called on the two countries to resolve their differences and urged the two countries to refrain from escalating tensions.

Parties opposing the Greek conservative government have accused the government of trying to spread fear among citizens by promoting allegations of mixed threats. Information about combined threats to create internal instability in the country is more serious than simply being leaked by some government circles. Tensions in relations with Turkey are escalating and must be addressed seriously and with a national strategy.

Turkey has criticized the Greek prime minister’s speech at the US Congress and his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and the increase in the number of US bases in Greece, and called on Athens to take a fair approach in its relations with Turkey. Erdogan insists talks with Greece will be suspended until the government in Athens corrects its mistakes and will not be resumed unless the country acts seriously and honestly.

Meanwhile, the Turkish foreign minister called for the withdrawal of Greek troops from the 16 islands. The islands were ceded to Greece under the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and the Treaty of Paris in 1947. Both the treaty has one condition: Greece will not militarize the islands and will not deploy weapons there. According to Ankara, however, “Greece has changed the regime of these islands. Weapons must be taken out of the islands”.

The Turkish foreign minister added that if Greece does not back down from such attacks, Turkey will discuss the sovereignty of the islands. In Turkey’s letter to the UN Secretary General, this issue has been made clear. The Turkish interior minister also accused Athens of training terrorists in Lavrio, east of Athens, and claimed that Greece was training PKK terrorists and supporting the Gulen terrorist organization.

Turkey accuses Greece of harassing Turkish planes inside Greek airspace and international airspace. According to Ankara, if there is one factor that threatens regional security and stability, it is Greece. Greece continues to militarize the islands in violation of the Lausanne and Paris Treaties. Greece’s claim for the right to expand its territorial waters is against Turkey’s vital interests and its right to freedom of navigation.