Greece’s defense minister Panos Kammenos said on Thursday that there has been an “undeclared war” in the Aegean since 1974.
“We have dead heroes falling in the line of duty and these are cases that prevail only in war,” he said in reference to Giorgos Baltadoros, the Greek pilot whose fighter jet crashed off the island of Skyros last week.
He warned Turkey that Greece’s armed forces will “intercept anything that enters our own airspace”.
The Greek minister also acknowledged that he has been singled out for criticism by Turkish officials for his strong statements against Ankara’s activities in the Aegean and elsewhere.
“[The] Turks are running amok with me,” he said; “I wish them good elections.”
Earlier in April, Turkey’s European Affairs Minister Omer Celik had hit out at Kammenos saying his comments were “foolhardy”.
He continued his broadside on Tuesday, tweeting:
Greek PM Tsipras said “Provocation and aggresiveness are not signs of power.” His Minister of Defense should pay heed to this, memorise it and repeat it everyday.
— Ömer Çelik (@omerrcelik) April 17, 2018
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