Two days before his arrival in Greece, Turkish PM Binali Yildirim directly disputed the current Status Quo in the Aegean Sea as set out by international law, stressing that the sea was neither a closed sea for Greece or Turkey.

Responding to criticism he came under by Turkish opposition party leader Kemal Kilidcaroglu, who said President Erdogan should have raised the issue of 18 isles in the Aegean disputed by Turkey, Mr. Yildirim claimed that there was a “gray situation” in the Aegean Sea over the sovereignty of 132 rocks, while citing the Imia crisis to show the intentions of Turkey in the Aegean.

“During our rule, we did not allow a single pebble to leave the Aegean islands. The first dispute over the Aegean islands was during the Imia crisis and then Turkey clearly showed its position on this issue”, he underlined. Mr. Yildirim followed in the footsteps of President Erdogan reiterating that the Lausanne Treaty needed revision.