The government will discuss Greece’s deployment of armored vehicles to demilitarized islands, in violation of international law, in a Cabinet meeting to be held on Monday.
The Cabinet, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will address the issue amid tensions between Türkiye and Greece.
According to security sources, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) performing mission flights in the Aegean detected a movement and determined that two Greek landing craft were on the way to Lesbos and Samos.
It was revealed that the ships in question delivered 23 tactical-wheeled armored vehicles to Lesbos and 18 tactical-wheeled armored vehicles to Samos. It was noteworthy that the armored vehicles were among those sent to Alexandroupoli (Dedeağaç) Port by the U.S.
Security sources described these events on Sept. 18 and Sept. 21 as the clearest indication that Greece continues to arm the islands close to Türkiye, violating their legal status.
The Cabinet will discuss Greece’s violations in the Aegean and steps to be taken by Türkiye, as well as the country’s pushbacks against irregular migrants.
Erdoğan is expected to attend a leaders’ summit of the European Union in October, but whether or not he will hold a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has not been determined yet.
The president previously said that Mitsotakis “no longer exists” for him, over the latter’s provocative remarks.
Other issues that will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting include Türkiye’s counterterrorism fight, the implications of Erdoğan’s meetings at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting and the United Nations.
The normalization process with Israel and Armenia, as well as ties with Gulf countries, will also be discussed in the meeting.
Türkiye and Greece are at odds over a number of issues, including competing claims over jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, air space, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus and the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea.
A dispute over drilling rights for potential oil and gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea led to a tense naval standoff in the summer of 2020. Greece has since embarked on a major military modernization program.
But the two countries also cooperate on energy projects, including a newly built pipeline that transports natural gas from Azerbaijan to Western Europe. The pipeline, which crosses Türkiye and Greece, is part of Europe's effort to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
Türkiye, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue and negotiations.
Officials from both countries resumed exploratory talks in 2021 after a five-year pause to lay the groundwork for formal negotiations to begin but haven’t made much progress.
