Turkey revisits demand for demilirization of 16 islets

Turkey has reiterated its call for the demilitarization of 16 Aegean islands, citing the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923.

Speaking to the BBC from Libya, its Defense Minister Hulusi Akar insisted that while the Treaty of Lausanne states that 23 islands must not be militarized, Greece has militarized 16 of them.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signified Greece’s readiness to take part in an organized dialogue between the European Union and Turkey to tackle their differences.

“We have made it clear to Turkey that the continuation of its provocations with regard to Greece and Cyprus cannot but inevitably impact Euro-Turkish relations,” he said. 

Regarding his recent phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mitsotakis said, “Everyone understands that it is not good to have absolutely no communication.”