Only a few hours after the visit of Greek Defence Minster Panos Kammenos flew over the isles of Imia in the eastern Aegean Sea, Wednesday to commemorate the 1996 crisis, and the response by Turkey by dispatching F-16 fighter jets in multiple violations of Greek air space, Turkey is continuing to raise tensions. The Turkish Vice President, Veysi Kaynak stated “we [Turkey] would not allow Greece to pave new spaces in the Aegean”, adding that Greece was trying to exploit the Imia islets, something the Turkish military would not permit. “The rocky isles of Kardak (how Turkey refers to Imia) and similar isles, are subject to exploitation by Greece, but the Turkish government will never allow Greece to create new spaces around them”, he stated during an even at Anadolu news agency. His statements were immediately reported on by the Turkish media.