Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Turkey and Greece exchange barbs in each other's language over Aegean Sea islands

Turkey and Greece exchange barbs in each other's language over Aegean Sea islands

An escalating war of words has broken out between Turkey and Greece over islands in the Aegean Sea, with both sides now exchanging accusations and threats in each other's language.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Athens on Thursday to demilitarize the islands that he claims were peacefully ceded to Greece.

Ankara has accused Greek authorities of building a military presence in violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Treaty, which guarantee the islands' unarmed status.

Erdoğan stated that he was "not joking" and even posted tweets in both Greek and English in a marked harshening of rhetoric against Turkey’s neighbor and historic regional rival.

"This nation is determined," the Turkish president said on the final day of military exercises near Izmir.

Greece has stated that the islands — located within striking distance of a large Turkish landing fleet — cannot be left undefended and have been garrisoned for decades.

While the two countries are NATO allies, they have long engaged in disputes over migration, maritime borders and mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece maintains Turkey has deliberately misinterpreted international treaties and says it has legal grounds to defend itself against hostile actions by Ankara.

After Erdoğan decided to tweet in Greek, a government spokesperson in Athens described it as "notable".

“Greek is known as the language of reason, freedom and justice,” Giannis Oikonomou said. “The tactics Turkey has chosen do not fall under any of these categories.”

Oikonomou had earlier said that Greece was dealing with Turkish “provocations” with “calm and determination.”

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras even replied to Erdoğan in Turkish.

"Greece will protect its sovereignty against all kinds of threats," he wrote on Twitter. "Let's end the provocation and get back to dialogue on the basis of international law."

Last month, Erdoğan said he would stop talking to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after comments the Greek leader made during a trip to the US.

“I think we are still very far from that point, far from the tension we had in the summer of 2020,” Mitsotakis said in reference to a time when tensions flared between Greece and Turkey over gas exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

“Today, everyone needs to show restraint," he said, commenting on tensions between Athens and Ankara, "especially at a time when we are facing a very big challenge at NATO with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We must be united."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
×