Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged Greece to “change course” and end what he described as the militarization of Aegean islands that have a demilitarized status, while warning against interpreting Ankara’s “calm and rational approach” as a sign of weakness.
Speaking to journalists on his return from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Erdogan said Turkey had no territorial ambitions toward any country but would not allow anyone to violate its rights.
“Turkey has no ambitions regarding anyone’s territory, but it will not allow anyone to violate its own rights,” Erdogan said.
He called on Greece to abandon what he described as the “wrong path” and respect international treaties.
“Ignoring and violating international treaties will benefit no one,” Erdogan said. “Whoever interprets Turkey’s calm and rational approach as weakness is making a serious mistake.”
