As the Aegean Sea remains a hotbed of tensions, Türkiye patiently repeats its warning to Greece. One day after the Greek coast guard harassed Turkish fishing boats in the sea dividing the two countries, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar adopted bittersweet rhetoric toward Athens.

Calling Greece not to impede on Türkiye's offer of a hand of friendship, the country's defense minister on Friday reaffirmed that Ankara would not leave any harassment or provocation by Athens without a response.

Türkiye did not receive a positive response to its dialogue attempts from Greece, Akar noted, speaking at an event in the northern Tokat province, saying Athens is not helping "de-escalate tensions" between the two countries. "We do not harass or provoke (Greece), but we will not leave any harassment or provocation against us without response," Akar said, adding that despite Athens' "provocative attitude," Ankara continues its call for dialogue. "Do not delay in holding this hand of friendship," he said urging Greece to end its "irreconcilable and provocative attitudes."

The two countries are at odds over several issues, including competing claims to jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime boundaries, airspace, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus, the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea and migrants. Relations deteriorated after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Mitsotakis "no longer exists" for him, when Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lobbied to block sales of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye during a visit to the United States, despite previously agreeing with Erdoğan "to not include third countries in our dispute." Last May, Erdoğan cut ties with Mitsotakis and declared all other communication channels between the countries closed. The most recent incidents to have triggered tensions include two Greek coast guard boats opening fire on a cargo ship in international waters, continued pushbacks by Greek elements recorded by Turkish UAVs, and previous harassment of Turkish fighter jets on a NATO mission by Greece’s Russian-made S-300s.

Akar highlighted the need for peaceful "ways and methods" to resolve problems between Türkiye and Greece. "In this context, we held consultative talks as part of confidence-building measures, but unfortunately, we could not get a positive response from our neighbor Greece," Akar said. He said Greece refused their "invitation" and instead, resorted to blaming Türkiye by using terms like neo-Ottomanism, revisionism and expansionism. "None of those have any legitimate basis; they are groundless. It is Greece which disrupts the status quo; it is Greece that arms its islands," Akar said.

International treatments in force block what Türkiye call the militarization of Aegean islands and allow only armament for the islands' security. Turkish military drones recently recorded the deployment of Greek armored vehicles on the islands of Lesbos and Samos, which Ankara maintains violates international law. Following the incident, Ankara protested with the United States and Greece over the unlawful deployment of armored vehicles on the Aegean islands with nonmilitary quality.

Türkiye summoned the Greek ambassador and called for an end to violations on Aegean islands and restoring their nonmilitary status, according to the Foreign Ministry. In the note, the ministry stated that the deployment violated Greece's obligations under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Treaty of Paris. These islands were required to be demilitarized under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Treaty of Paris, so any troops or weapons on the islands are strictly forbidden.

"It is Greece which provokes Türkiye; it is Greece which fired upon our fishing boats yesterday. They are escalating tensions just for the sake of their domestic politics. They continue such attempts, which indeed go against the welfare of the Greek people. We responded both on the field and at the table and will continue doing so. We do not resort to provocation, attacks or harassment and we will not leave any harassment go unanswered," he said, noting all military units are "on alert." "Come to your senses and don't laugh on the wrong side of your mouth," he said.

Akar urged Greece not to embark "on an adventure" by trusting others. "You did it in the past and you saw the consequences," he said, referring to the Greek occupation of Türkiye in the aftermath of World War One, which ended with the defeat of Greek forces in the face of successive Turkish victories.

Fight against terrorism

Akar said Türkiye has been a rising actor in the international community under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and was striving to protect Türkiye's rights, adding that Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) now had greater responsibility for the protection of the nation. He noted that Türkiye has been going through a stage in its history with the highest number of counterterrorism operations.

"Our army of heroes maintains security of our borders and under the strategy of eradicating terrorism in its source, carry out a fight against terrorist groups outside the borders. We only target terrorists and respect integrity and sovereignty rights of all our neighbors, primarily Iraq and Syria," he said. He dismissed claims that Türkiye targeted Kurds in its operations and Turks and said Kurds have always been brothers and sisters, "as our martyr's cemeteries where Kurds and Turks are buried next to each other indicate."

Relations with Syria

The Turkish defense chief further commented on a recent tripartite meeting between Türkiye, Russia and Syria and said Ankara had affirmed its support for Syria's territorial integrity.

Urging people in Syria not be a tool of provocations, Akar stressed that Türkiye's primary concern is counterterrorism. "We openly declared our position. We will not give concessions in our fight against terrorism; this is our sole purpose. We also underlined that we could not accept any more Syrian refugees and a new wave of migration will be unacceptable. Thus, we were working to ensure that our Syrian brothers and sisters stay in their homeland. We have Syrian brothers and sisters we work, live together both in Türkiye and Syria and it should be known that we will not accept any decision that will be against them, will violate their rights," he said.

On Dec. 28, the Turkish, Russian and Syrian defense ministers met in Moscow to discuss counterterrorism efforts in Syria. They agreed to continue tripartite meetings to ensure stability in Syria and the wider region. The meeting tackled the Syria crisis, the refugee issue and joint counterterrorism efforts against all terrorist groups in Syria.