Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday repeated his stark warning to neighbouring Greece regarding alleged airspace violations over the Aegean Sea.
It is time for Athens to “pull themselves together,” Erdoğan told reporters in Ankara ahead of his departure for a three-day Balkan tour.
Tayyip Erdogan had already on Monday accused Greece of occupying demilitarised islands in the Aegean and said Turkey was ready to “do what is necessary” when the time came. The EU voiced concern over what it called “hostile remarks” after Turkish President
Historic rivals while also fellow members of NATO, Turkey and Greece have been at odds over issues ranging from overflights and the status of Aegean islands to maritime boundaries and hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean, as well as ethnically split Cyprus.
“The continuous hostile remarks by the political leadership of Turkey against Greece…raise serious concerns and fully contradict much needed de-escalation efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Peter Stano, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
“Threats and aggressive rhetoric are unacceptable and need to stop,” he added, underlining EU demands that differences be settled peacefully and in full respect of international law.
“The EU reiterates its expectation from Turkey to seriously work on de-escalating tensions in a sustainable way in the interest of regional stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all EU member states,” Stano said.
via Reuters
