Athens' response to Akar's provocative statements about Kastelorizo

Shortly before the fiesta for the drilling rig Abdulhamid, the Minister of Defense of Turkey, Hulusi Akar, made new threats, and referring to the distance of Kastellorizos from Turkey, he repeated that it is only 1.950 meters and the students of the military schools can swim there. In fact, referring to a Greek minister, who reportedly said that "if they can, let them come", Akar said that "if God wills, this can also happen".

The Greek government representative, Yannis Oikonomou, responding to a related question, noted that Greece is dealing with the sailing of the Turkish drilling rig with vigilance and the necessary attention. The representative also commented on Akar's provocative statements about Kastelorizo, speaking of "rhetorical exaggerations and an overabundance of challenges that do not add anything more to Greek-Turkish relations" and added: "Always in the face of challenges, rhetorical or otherwise, the government has proven that it is positioned with composure and determination".

The representative emphasized that "national rights are absolutely protected based on international treaties and our deterrent capacity and are mainly based on the fact that the world community knows that Greece is a factor of stability and on the side of International Law". Jokingly he noted that "it is a good idea to have a peace fight on the open seas with Greeks and Turks. It's better to look at the matter in a more relaxed way and, with an emphasis on International Law, not to create hotbeds of tension."

Source: Slpress