The Turkish military yesterday accused Greece of deploying arms in the Dodecanese islands and Rhodes in the Aegean Sea, in violation of the treaties of Lausanne and Paris.
�Greece is openly deploying arms in Rhodes and Dodecanese islands which are crucially important for Turkey's national security,� the office of the Chief of General Staff said in a statement on the history of Rhodes, posted on its Web site.
The military's accusation came just 10 days after the foreign ministers of the two countries declared a new set of confidence building measures, which pushes the two countries militaries to cooperate more in the region. However, rapprochement is not that fast in the military field at it is in the political one, recent incidents reveal. Turkish and Greek jets and vessels often confront each other over disputed sovereignty claims. The two countries came to the brink of war in 1987 and 1996 due to disagreement over territorial waters.
�In fact, Greece is moving in line with its 1850-dated Megali Idea policy with its latest moves and while doing so, trying to persuade the world public opinion of the existence of imaginary expansionist Turkish threat toward these islands,� the statement said.
Treaties concluded in 1923 and 1947 restrict Greece from deploying arms on Rhodes and Dodecanese islands while hamper Turkey from placing large numbers of military units on its Aegean coast.
The military also criticized Greece for pressuring ethnic Turks in Rhodes to secure the success of its policies. It said many Turks had to leave their homes as a result of pressure and threats by Greeks. Ottoman Turks ruled the Rhodes and Dodecanese islands for 390 years but had to hand them to the Italians and then to the Greeks during World War I.
Turkish Daily News, LINK
�Greece is openly deploying arms in Rhodes and Dodecanese islands which are crucially important for Turkey's national security,� the office of the Chief of General Staff said in a statement on the history of Rhodes, posted on its Web site.
The military's accusation came just 10 days after the foreign ministers of the two countries declared a new set of confidence building measures, which pushes the two countries militaries to cooperate more in the region. However, rapprochement is not that fast in the military field at it is in the political one, recent incidents reveal. Turkish and Greek jets and vessels often confront each other over disputed sovereignty claims. The two countries came to the brink of war in 1987 and 1996 due to disagreement over territorial waters.
�In fact, Greece is moving in line with its 1850-dated Megali Idea policy with its latest moves and while doing so, trying to persuade the world public opinion of the existence of imaginary expansionist Turkish threat toward these islands,� the statement said.
Treaties concluded in 1923 and 1947 restrict Greece from deploying arms on Rhodes and Dodecanese islands while hamper Turkey from placing large numbers of military units on its Aegean coast.
The military also criticized Greece for pressuring ethnic Turks in Rhodes to secure the success of its policies. It said many Turks had to leave their homes as a result of pressure and threats by Greeks. Ottoman Turks ruled the Rhodes and Dodecanese islands for 390 years but had to hand them to the Italians and then to the Greeks during World War I.
Turkish Daily News, LINK
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