Erdogan doubles down on islands threat
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated a threat, that Turkey will “come down suddenly one night” on the Greek islands, for a second time during an official visit to Bosnia on Tuesday.
“If we say that we can come down suddenly one night, what do we mean. We can come down suddenly one night when the time comes,” said Erdogan, explaining that “these islands have military bases and if the illegal threats continue, there will be an end to patience. When patience runs out, there is relief.”
“As we can see the relief in sight, I believe Greece knows this too. When the time comes, everything necessary will be done,” he said.
Erdogan had also made the threat earlier the same day ahead of a three-day tour of the Balkans, with stops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia.
Erdogan also reiterated claims – which Greece has denied – that Greek surface-to-air missiles locked on to Turkish F-16 fighter jets carrying out a reconnaissance mission in international airspace last month.
Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry took issue with recent statements from the European Commission and the bloc’s rotating presidency expressing concern about the escalation in aggressive rhetoric from Ankara.
