Erdogan says Greek islands ‘used to be ours’

In what was widely seen as a fresh dig at Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday reiterated that several Greek islands in the eastern Aegean “used to be ours.”

The Turkish leader made waves recently in Greece when he said that the Treaty of Lausanne, which set the borders between Greece and Turkey in 1923, was unfair on his country.

He returned to the subject on Saturday, saying he didn’t understand why his remarks had raised so many objections.

“I said Lausanne and they got annoyed. Why are you annoyed?” he said, adding that “these islands were ours.”

“We have our monuments and our mosques there [on the islands],” he said.

“Whoever signed [for their passing to Greece] bears the responsibility.”