Ankara expresses ire over Greek-French defense agreement

By Manolis Kostidis

In its first official response to the defense agreement signed between Greece and France in Paris on Tuesday, Turkey expressed its ire at “Greece’s maximalist claims,” adding that the deal “is a threat to regional peace and stability.”

“Greece’s maximalist claims for jurisdiction over maritime areas and airspace are incompatible with international law. It is futile for Greece to dream that it can make us accept these claims – which are also questioned by the international community – by forging bilateral military alliances against Turkey, in a manner that harms the NATO alliance,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said in comments on Friday.

“Such futile efforts will only increase our determination to protect our rights as much as the rights of the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ in the Aegean and the Mediterranean,” he said.

“Instead of cooperation, Greece’s defense procurement policy and its efforts to isolate and alienate Turkey is a problematic policy that will do harm to it and the EU, of which it is a member, and is a threat to regional peace and stability,” Bilgic added.