Turkey warns Greece over illegal military exercise
ANKARA
Turkey on Nov. 2 warned Greece over an illegal joint military exercise it allegedly conducted with Egypt on the Greek island of Rhodes.
In a written statement, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it learned that Greece and Egypt are conducting a joint amphibian attack exercise between Oct. 30 and Nov. 4 on Rhodes, according to information received from Turkish military sources.
The statement said the 1947 Treaty of Paris prohibits any kind of military education activities on the Rhodes island, which was transferred to Greece from Italy after World War II on the condition that it would be disarmed.
“Therefore, this military exercise conducted on Rhodes is an open breach of international law,” the statement stressed.
It said they have conveyed warnings to the Greek Embassy in Ankara and reminded them of the importance of avoiding one-sided acts that will increase tensions in the Aegean Sea.
“In this framework, we stress our expectation from Greece to avoid hostile acts and acts against international law, and we invite third parties not to be partners to these kinds of violations of Greece,” it added.
Rhodes is located in the southeastern part of the Aegean Sea and is close to the Turkish coast.
