Greece is raising its response both diplomatically and operationally, in response to Turkish provocations along the border in Evros and the Eastern Aegean.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has sent two letters, one to European Council President Charles Michel and one to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, outlining Turkey's illegal actions against Greece. The ministers of European Affairs of the MED Group 7 (Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain) were also informed about the letters and their content.
In a joint statement, these countries called on Turkey to respect international law, including the law of the sea, and in particular the sovereignty and sovereign rights of EU member states.
Turkey doesn't only provoke Greece but the European Union said government spokesman Stelios Petsas.
The statements of the Cypriot Foreign Minister, Nikos Christodoulidis, were in the same line. Speaking to ANT1 Cyprus, Mr. Christodoulidis said that Turkey's moves concern all countries in the region as well as the European Union.
Even ready for military involvement
Apart from the diplomatic moves, the Minister of National Defense clarified that the country is ready even for military involvement. Speaking to Star, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panayotopoulos said Greece was ready to take military action if provoked by Turkey. "We will do whatever it takes".
A similar text was published in the news by the Deputy National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Thanos Dokos. Mr Dokos emphasized that "the maximalist approaches (such as the Blue Homeland and the Turkish-Libyan Memorandum) and the gray belt schemes and demilitarization of islands will not lead to a Greek retreat or a purely political negotiation, as it seems to be Turkey's aim. Instead it's going to lead in a hardening of the Greek attitude and a cold war in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean " Mr Dokos stated.
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