The Turkish Foreign Ministry doubled down on its position that the Aegean islands of Imia were Turkish territory, responding to the reaction by the Greek Foreign Ministry that the isles were Greek soil, by stressing that Turkey’s stance had been known to the international community since 1996. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Huseyin Muftuoglu issued a written reply to the Greek Foreign Ministry’s position on the status quo of Imia. “Our (Turkey) position is known to the international community regarding the sovereignty of the Kardak (the Turkish name for Imia) isles. Our political position has not changed on the matter”, he wrote in the response.