In a climate of intense concern and with a provocative rhetoric, the Turkish media is reacting to the news of Greece‘s imminent acquisition of Exocet anti-ship missiles as well as another Belharra frigate from France.

As SKAI reports, the reports reflect a widespread concern about Greek arms options, while theories about a “strategic encirclement” of Turkey by Greece, Israel and France are not missing.

Turkey newspaper writes in its front page: “Missile buildup in the Aegean. Will Exocet be used against Turkey?”, while Hurriyet notes that Greece is planning an additional Belharra frigate. Similarly, Haberturk highlights France’s purchase of anti-ship missiles, presenting the developments as part of a hostile strategy against Ankara.

In a CNN Turk broadcast, analysts expressed the view that “Greece is threatening us with weapons,” but stressed that Turkey now has its own missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometers that “will reach 5,000.” In the same broadcast, statements by Greek Chief of the General Staff Dimitris Houpis, who referred to Turkey as a threat and said that Greece can react anywhere within five minutes, were described as “scandalous.”

Turkish commentators echoed the claim of French influence in the Eastern Mediterranean through Greece, while analyst Joskun Basbug argued that “Israel seeks to use Greece and Greek Cypriots against Turkey”. He even referred to alleged attempts to include Egypt in this axis, adding: “They go and arm the entire Aegean from Alexandroupoli to Crete, even Kastelorizo – which is actually ours!”

According to Turkish media, Greece and Israel recently planned to lay a cable east of Kasos and Karpathos, with Ankara claiming that the area falls within the Turkish continental shelf and describing how Athens “postponed the project after a reaction from the Turkish defence ministry.”

The mood in the Turkish briefing captures the nervousness in Ankara about strengthening Greek deterrence capabilities at a time when relations between the two countries continue to balance on fragile geopolitical stability.