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Under the headline “These are the five strategic islands that Greece has equipped”, the Turkish newspaper Takvim reiterates Ankara’s claims regarding the militarization of Greek Aegean islands, presenting information about their military forces.
The article claims that Greece violated the Peace Treaties of Lausanne (1923) and Paris (1947), turning 18 of the 23 islands into “military bases”, which today pose a “threat” to Turkey. “Having deployed thousands of troops on the islands, Athens has deployed anti-aircraft guns, tanks, artillery and air defense systems”, writes Takvim, presenting controversial figures for the Greek forces that it claims currently exist on the islands of Mytilene, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes, while information on the situation on smaller islands is also reported.
The daily says that due to the situation, Turkey intends to increase its presence in the occupied part of Cyprus, creating a naval and airforce base, while referring to the islands and islets of the famous EGAYDAAK list, which Turkey directly challenges their Greek sovereignty. “It is emphasized that there are 152 islands and islets in the Aegean, whose sovereignty has not been transferred to Greece, and these must be registered with the UN”, according to the newspaper.
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Meanwhile, the retired admiral and former Deputy Commander of the Turkish Navy, Cihat Yayci, has targeted the natural gas resources south of Crete, with what the Turkish media describe as “impressive statements”.
Speaking on Haberturk’s “Take Tek” show, Yayci -who is considered the “architect” of the controversial agreement with Libya- provocatively stressed that “in the south of Crete there are gas fields that can cover the needs of Turkey for 572 years”.
“Libya, by making an agreement with us, despite Greece’s agreement with Egypt, gained 39.000 square km of military area. If a government appears in Libya and says that ‘we made a wrong agreement, we must give this to Greece’, it means that it will lose an area equal to four times the area of Cyprus”.
