Turkey is stepping up pressure on Greece following a series of Greek initiatives in recent weeks, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest statements viewed in Ankara as both a warning to Athens and a signal to Turkish authorities to take a tougher stance, according to Turkish sources and analysts.
“From now on, the rules of engagement and disengagement will be updated frequently,” a Turkish source told Kathimerini, describing the thinking in Ankara following Erdogan’s recent comments. The Turkish president called on Greece to end the militarization of its Aegean islands, emphasized Turkey’s geographic proximity to the islands and urged Athens to “learn from history.”
At the same time, Turkish media have renewed their focus on Kastellorizo in the southeastern Aegean, highlighting its proximity to Turkey’s coast and revisiting Ankara’s longstanding objections to the militarization of the Greek islands.
Turkish political analysts said Erdogan’s comments recalled periods of heightened tension before Greece and Turkey signed the 2023 Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness.
The latest developments follow a series of Turkish moves over the past 45 days. Ankara has protested Greece’s creation of two marine parks and its new Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism, reiterating its claims over what it calls “gray zones” in the Aegean.
