Dendias responds to the Turkish Ministry of Defense: Greece does not threaten, but is determined to defend its sovereign rights

Responding to the provocative claims made by Turkey’s Ministry of Defense on Christmas Day, Greece’s Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, spoke on Friday from Samos, where he was visiting.

Speaking from the 79th National Guard High Command camp, Mr. Dendias made it clear that “Greece threatens no one. Our country has not expressed revisionist rhetoric toward any of its neighbors, nor has it made any territorial claims—let alone issued threats of war.”

“However,” he added, “our country is determined to defend its sovereignty and sovereign rights, as this is the constitutional duty of the Armed Forces.”

“Thus, during these holy days, we are sending a message of national self-confidence to future generations,” the Minister of National Defense concluded.

Dendias: Greece is determined to defend its sovereign rights

In a post on X, he also noted: “I exchanged wishes for the holy days of Christmas with members of the Armed Forces who safeguard the independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights of our homeland. I expressed to them the gratitude of Greek society for the work carried out by the women and men of the Armed Forces.”

The Turkish provocation

In statements made yesterday, the spokesperson for Turkey’s Ministry of Defense distorted reality by placing the blame for Turkish violations and breaches in the Aegean… on Greece.

Specifically, spokesperson Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk insisted that Turkey is not the side escalating tensions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

“The side escalating tensions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean is not Turkey, but exclusive and unilateral actions, as well as approaches aimed at creating faits accomplis,” Aktürk said, adding that Turkey wants the region “to be shaped as a basin of cooperation and stability, not a field of conflict.”

Responding to reports by Greek media regarding violations of Greek airspace, the Turkish Ministry provocatively claimed that “at the root of the allegations of violations lies the inconsistency of the Greek approach regarding territorial waters and airspace, which has no precedent either today or historically.”

According to Ankara, “the flights carried out by our country in the Aegean take place in international airspace,” while reiterating that Turkey “is willing to resolve all issues with Greece through peaceful means, via dialogue and negotiations, within the framework of international law, mutual goodwill, and good-neighborly relations.”