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Amid tensions between Turkey and Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned Greece that it would pay a heavy price if it continued to "harass" Turkish planes over the Aegean.
"Greece, look at history, go back in time; if you go too far, the price will be heavy. We have one thing to say to Greece: Remember Izmir," Erdogan said at Turkey's largest technology event, Teknofest, in the province of Samsun on the Black Sea coast, according to Anadolu Agency. Notably, Izmir is a province on the Turkish western Aegean Sea coast that Ankara liberated from Greek occupation in 1922 as part of its "War of Independence". Erdogan further said that Athens' occupation of the Aegean Sea islands is not their concern. "When the time comes, we will do what is necessary. As we say, all of a sudden, we can come overnight." Tensions between the two neighbouring countries rose after Greece lodged a complaint with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to delete a tweet by the NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) to mark Turkiye's 100th Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of occupying Greek armies at the hands of the Turks in the 1922 Battle of Dumlupinar. Earlier on Tuesday, LANDCOM tweeted a post to mark the 100th Victory Day, Anadolu Agency reported. Turkey criticized NATO for deleting the tweet, calling it "unacceptable," and saying that the alliance "has greatly discredited its corporate identity and prestige" by deleting the tweet upon a "baseless request" by Greece. Tensions between Greece and Turkey often run high in quarrels over the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. Even, now Turkey questions Greece's sovereignty over a number of islands in the eastern Aegean: Rhodes, Lesbos, Samos, and Kos. Greece points to the fact that Turkish jets have been ordered out almost on a daily basis from fly over Greek islands. Earlier, Turkey accused Greece of using a Russian-made missile system to harass its F-16 fighter jets carrying out a reconnaissance mission in international airspace in what it termed a "hostile action". The radar of a Greek S-300 missile system based on the island of Crete locked on to the Turkish jets on August 23, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported last Sunday, citing defence ministry sources. The allegation is the latest claim from Turkey that its neighbour and fellow NATO member Greece has been targeting its aircraft above the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea. (ANI)
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