The militarization of Greek islands on the Aegean Sea with non-armed status eliminates the sovereignty transfer requirement of them, the chair of the Turkish Maritime and Global Strategies Center said Tuesday.

Cihat Yaycı made evaluations to the Anadolu Agency (AA) regarding the recent arming of the eastern Aegean islands, which are in disarmed status, by Greece.

He said Greece could only have a detachment force to ensure security in the 23 islands that had to be in disarmed status according to the 1923 Lausanne and 1947 Paris Peace Treaties.

According to the provision in these treaties, Greece could have a gun, sword and rifle of this strength, Yaycı said: "If this force exceeds 100 people, one machine gun can be given. Apart from that, the smallest military unit and weapons cannot be brought; no ship can visit the port. Military aircraft cannot pass over the islands. This issue is very important and very clear."

Yaycı reminded that the Greek army, while occupying western Anatolia in 1919-1922, made a military buildup on the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos as it is today.

"This is the issue that (modern Türkiye's founder Mustafa Kemal) Atatürk especially emphasized in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The Turkish nation and the Republic of Türkiye should not be subjected to such an invasion again. Since these islands are given away, they are actually out of our hands, the condition that these islands should be in nonmilitary status will be stipulated so that the Republic of Türkiye will not face such a threat and risk again. This is very clear in the provisions of the treaty and in the records. What Greece does today is not only to violate the provisions of the treaty, but also to deteriorate the status of the islands whose sovereignty has been transferred, provided that they are in nonmilitary status, that is, the armament and militarization of these islands abolish the sovereignty transfer condition of these islands."

Yaycı stated that they detected with photographs that the status of 23 islands in the Aegean Sea was violated, adding: "Greece is a perpetual expansionist, maximalist and revisionist state that does not recognize law, treaty and rule. Greece has grown land six times, and those six times it has grown by taking land from the Turks. It took it at the table without winning or entering a war in any of them."

Türkiye and Greece are at odds over a number of issues, including competing claims over 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.

Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, including arming islands near Turkish shores that are demilitarized under treaties, saying that such moves frustrate its good faith efforts for peace. Ankara accuses Athens of illegally militarizing Greek islands in the East Aegean and questions Greece’s sovereignty over them. There is also a dispute over the exploitation of mineral resources in the Aegean.

Turkish military drones recently recorded the deployment of Greek armored vehicles on the islands of Lesbos and Samos, which Ankara maintains is in violation of international law. Following the incident, Ankara lodged a protest with the United States and Greece over the unlawful deployment of armored vehicles on Aegean islands with nonmilitary status.

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 was another violation of 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.

Also, Türkiye has ramped up the criticism of its NATO ally United States for abandoning a balanced policy and escalating tensions on the issues of Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, reiterating that it will protect its rights and interests against the Greek side.

Despite saying that it has no intention of entering into an arms race with its neighbor and NATO ally Türkiye, Greece also continues to carry out an ambitious rearmament program for its armed forces. Greece's burgeoning arms program is designed to counter the protection of Turkish interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. Türkiye has often warned Greece against indulging in an arms race, offering to resolve all outstanding issues, including in the Aegean, the Eastern Mediterranean and the island of Cyprus, through dialogue.