Following yet another provocation from Turkey, questioning Greece’s rights in the Aegean and especially the island of Kastellorizo, the chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, chose to respond in a similar manner.
“If they land on an islet, we will flatten it. And this is a red line that is adopted by the government as well,” he said during a briefing in Athens on Wednesday.
“Our effort focuses on not having to reach that point. With the US and the European Union we want to ensure that the Turks will not go that far.”
“Greece works as a bridge and plays a positive role. The Greece-Israel-Egypt axis offsets the pressure exerted by Turkey,” he added.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos was on the island of Kastellorizo on Wednesday, where he declared that Greece will demarcate its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the coming months, Kathimerini reports.
“Kastellorizo’s EEZ is of particular importance to our country’s economy,” he said, explaining that “within the next months, the declaration of the EEZ will unleash the potential for natural gas extraction for our country, [revealing] large gas fields that will meet the needs of future generations.”
“Those that do not respect our national sovereignty and territorial integrity will be crushed,’ he stressed, ahead of the trilateral summit between Greece, Cyprus and Israel that took place in Beersheba on Thursday.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were backed by the US, which considers all three countries as stabilising forces in tormented the Easter Mediterranean region.