In response to Turkey’s Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu’s threat that Turkey could set foot on the Imia isles whenever desired, Greece’s Defence Minister Panos Kammenos stated that “There is no way Cavusoglu can step onto a Greek island. If they want to they can see. I’ll see how they will get off the island if they set foot there.”
The comments were made by Kammenos in an interview on Skai TV Sunday. The Defense Minister furthered his message to Turkey by adding that any provocation by Turkey will be met with Greece’s armed forces.
The threats by Turkey regarding the Imia isles is a part of the irredentist rhetoric of the Turkish government which claims that dozens of Greek islands are in fact Turkish property, including Imia.
Back in December 2016 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke in front of his country’s national assembly stating claims over the Greek islands of Imia, a pair of two small uninhabited islets in the Aegean Sea, saying, “There is no change in our policy regarding Imia. Imia is Turkish land.”
Turkey’s claims to Greece’s Imia Isle have previously led the two countries to disputes which came extremely close to an outbreak of military forces in both 1987 and as recently as 1996.
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