Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that he warned Athens against making any “move” over the islets of Imia (Kardak) in the eastern Aegean and that therefore a crisis was averted end of January.
“This year there was no crisis around Kardak,” Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday.
“Why? Because we kept a specific stance. We said that if [Greece makes] any move, of the sort it has made in the past, then we will respond differently; and you will see that if Greece makes no move around Imia, then there will be no move on our side either,” Erdogan said.
Ankara has been disputed the Greek sovereignty of Imia, the two small uninhabited islands that brought the two countries at the verge of an armed conflict in January 1996.
In recent years, Greek politicians have flown over the Imia islets to commemorate the loss of three Navy officers. A move often and falsely seen by Ankara was a Greek provocation.
“My defense minister would most probably call the Greek defense minister to thank him and to continue this process in Imia and the other islands,” Erdogan added.
The Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, indeed spoke on the phone with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Wednesday.
According to state news agency amna, the two ministers spoke discussed the forthcoming NATO Defense Ministers Meeting in Brussels on February 12-13, as well as the resumption of dialogue on Confidence Building Measures, with talks to be held in Athens on February 17 -21.
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