Turkish Foreign Minister: Imia is Turkish land

Cavucoglu responds in written statement to MP

In the latest series of provocations against Greece, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed the island of Imia in the Aegean Sea belonged to Turkey, in a written response to a Turkish MP’s question in the country’s national assembly, Wednesday. “There is no change in our policy regarding Imia. Imia is Turkish land”, the Turkish Foreign Minister said. Speaking to Protothema.gr, a high ranking Greek diplomatic source said the Greek dominion over the Aegean isles and islets was indisputable. “Greece’s position over the legal status quo of the Aegean is absolutely straightforward and clear”, the source underlined. The Greek foreign Ministry warned that such statements undermined security in the region. The new provocative statement comes on the heels of a series of belligerent and nationalistic rhetoric adopted by the Turkish President Recep Erdogan and other political figures in Turkey who are disputing the national sovereignty of Greece over islands in the Aegean. The island of Imia (Kardak according to the Turks) caused the two nations to reach the brink of military conflict in 1996, when a tense standoff deescalated following a US diplomatic intervention.

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