Ankara: We’ll safeguard our interests in Aegean, East Med

Turkey's defense minister Hulusi Akar warned Greece and Cyprus Sunday not to encroach on Turkish regional interests.

According to Turkey's Anadolu agency, Akar said that Turkey will continue to safeguard its rights an interests both in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean.

Akar's statement follows similar ones by Turkey's Foreign Ministry and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had warned that “the actions of Greece and Greek Cyprus (Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus) searching for hydrocarbons in the area are a threat to and a danger for Turkey,” adding that the two countries are trying “in vain” to limit Turkish influence in the area and warning that “Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (the breakaway part of the island recognized only by Turkey) are determined to put in their place those countries that try to prevent us from exercising our rights derived from international law.”