The terms and conditions of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, particularly the rights of the Turkish minority, have recently been deliberately eroded by Greece, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday.

Speaking in a message on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the treaty, Erdoğan said: "With the Lausanne Peace Treaty, our land borders were drawn, capitulations were abolished, the rights of the Turkish minority remaining in Greece were secured, and the non-military status of the Greek islands close to our coasts was confirmed."

"However, in the recent period, the conditions recorded in the treaty, especially the rights of the Turkish minority, have been ignored or deliberately eroded by Greece," he emphasized.

Turkish officials have blamed Greece for escalating tensions in the Aegean as well as in bilateral ties recently as disagreements on the status of islands, maritime zones and the Turkish minority in Western Thrace continue.

"As Turkey, we will respond to each unfair and illegal attempt by Greece both on the table and on the field as we have done so far," Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday, after Greece decided to close four more primary schools belonging to the Turkish Muslim minority in Western Thrace for the continuing school year.

Akar said that despite all good-willed approaches by Turkey, the provocative moves of Greek politicians are continuing.

"The latest example of this is the decision to suspend the activities of Turkish schools in Greece. We strongly condemn this," he underlined.

The Foreign Ministry on Friday had similarly condemned the act, saying: "With this latest decision, more than a half of the minority primary schools have been closed. Thus, Greece's policy of closing primary schools belonging to the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace through 'temporary suspension' has proven to be systematic."

The ministry reiterated the Turkish minority's right to establish, manage and inspect their own schools in accordance with the Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1923 – which eventually paved the way for an independent Turkish republic.

It said the recent moves show the "discriminatory and oppressive policies" implemented against the Turkish minority in the field of education.

"While Greece closes primary schools with the pretext of insufficient number of students, it ignores, on the other hand, the demands for opening new minority secondary/high schools despite the obvious need, and violates the education rights of minority children," the ministry further noted.

Meanwhile the Greek foreign ministry rejected the accusations, alleging that Greek authorities decided to suspend the schools’ operation because they did not meet the minimum required number of nine pupils

Greece's Western Thrace region is home to some 150,000 Muslim Turks, whose rights to elect their own religious leaders, found Turkish associations, and have their own schools have been denied by Athens, in violation of European court orders.

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun criticized the recent escalatory rhetoric and acts by Athens toward Ankara.

Speaking to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Altun on Sunday said: "We were not, and will not be, the party that raises the tension. However, we have the means and capabilities to respond to any move."

Historic rivals Turkey and Greece have been at odds over issues ranging from overflights and the status of Aegean islands to maritime boundaries, hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the ethnically-split island of Cyprus.

Tensions flared again recently over airspace and the status of demilitarized islands in the Aegean. Erdoğan has said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis "no longer exists for him" after the Greek premier lobbied for the United States not to sell Turkey F-16 fighter jets during a speech at the U.S. Congress.

Touching on the issue, Altun said: "Our President had opened the channels for dialogue by giving the Mitsotakis government a chance. The Greek prime minister failed to seize this opportunity. Despite promising not get third partied involved in bilateral relations, he gave anti-Turkey messages in the United States."

Altun said it would be disadvantageous for Athens to challenge Turkey by relying on third countries.

"The issue here is not that the Greek prime minister goes to the U.S. or to another country. Despite its promises to Turkey, it tries to involve third parties in bilateral relations," he added.

Being asked whether it could be expected that Erdoğan and Mitsotakis come together soon, Altun said that he sees little possibility for such a meeting.

Cyprus dispute

As Cyprus remains one of the main disputes between the two countries, Turkey’s communications director underlined that there is much disinformation on the issue in order to alienate the Turkish Cypriots and reiterated Turkey’s stance for the need for a two-state solution on the island.

"The main reason for this is that despite all the well-intentioned steps taken, the Greek Cypriots reject a solution and we do not have any concrete indication that the crimes committed against the Turkish Cypriots in the last century will not be repeated," he indicated.

Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the United Nations to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Today, the Turkish side supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.

Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims made by European Union members Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that these excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Both sides cite a range of decadesold treaties and international agreements to support their conflicting territorial claims.

The issue of maritime boundaries is likely to come to the agenda of the two countries once again as Turkey last week said it will resume drilling operations near Cyprus next month.

"The hydrocarbon resources of the Mediterranean are not the toys of the Greek Cypriots. Our Abdülhamit Han drilling ship is planning to start its operations in the Mediterranean next month," Vice President Fuat Oktay said during a speech in the TRNC.

"Where our drilling ships will operate is determined by the decisions that Turkey will take alone as a sovereign state. No one should be disturbed by the activities that Turkey will carry out with its own ships in accordance with international law," Altun said further.