Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos has said that Greece would not rule out the possibility of a military conflict with Turkey over disputes in the Mediterranean. He said that his country was ready to protect its sovereign rights by pursuing military action.
The statement came a few hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference in Ankara with Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord Fayez Al-Sarraj.
Erdogan reiterated his intention to explore and drill for oil in the eastern Mediterranean.
“Turkey’s recent behavior is very aggressive, I think that the only way for Greece to deal with this behavior, which generally tends to be aggressive, is to exhaust all its diplomatic weapons. This is to ensure that the deterrent force of the Greek Armed Forces is increased,” he said.
When asked whether Greece was ready for a military solution, he replied with confidence: “We are preparing for any possibility, of course, military intervention is possible in all cases. We do not want to go there, but we want to make it clear that we will do everything necessary to defend our sovereign rights to the fullest extent possible.”
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a letter to the leadership of the European Union detailing Greece’s issues with Turkey’s provocations, stating it might lead to a Turkish-European crisis.