The issue of demilitarization of Greek islands was brought up again by the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, in an interview with the newspapers Aksam and Hurriyet.
As “Kathimerini” writes, according to Aksam, Akar stated: “The Greeks have militarized 16 of the 23 islands that should be in demilitarization. Despite the provisions of the Lausanne and Paris Treaties. I asked the German Minister of Defense. Who has expansionist aspirations?
“There is no other country in the world that has 6 miles of territorial waters and 10 miles of airspace”, also stated.
As for what he called “the provocative visits of Greek officials” on Greek islands, he noted: “Greek officials made 78 visits to the islands in front of us, next to us. These are provocations! If you talk about friendship, then demilitarize the islands”!
How Turks react to the Greek flag near Hagia Sophia? (video)
The Turkish Minister of Defense also attacked personally his Greek counterpart, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, stating: “Now at the gates of Europe they are trying to cover up their illegalities and try to explain problems that have nothing to do with reality. The Greek minister told a German minister that ‘three times we have reached the brink of war with Turkey’. They dream. We have neither thoughts nor plans. The Greek minister asked his German counterpart to cancel the delivery of the submarines and spare parts. Germany has denied this request”.
