Turkey Slams Greek President's Demilitarization Remarks

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has criticized Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos over his questioning of the demilitarized status of a group of southeastern Aegean islands.

In a written statement issued late on Wednesday, the ministry acknowledged that Pavlopoulos said Greece wants to develop good neighborly relations with Turkey, but it expressed concern over his remarks on the demilitarized status of the Aegean Islands.

"Our objection to Greece's militarization of these islands, threatening the security of Turkey, is a basic right granted to our country under the framework of international law," read the statement.

In March 6, visiting the islands the Dodecanese, Pavlopoulos appeared to suggest that Athens could reinterpret the issue of demilitarization for purposes of "preventive defense."

Ankara accused Athens of "hiding behind an imagined Turkish threat" in its bid to challenge the demilitarized status.

The ministry recalled that the matter of demilitarization is predicated on internationally binding legal instruments beginning with the Treaty of Lausanne and culminating in the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty. - İstanbul

Politika Güncel Haberler