Turkey’s main opposition party has sharply criticized Greece’s planned air defense cooperation with Israel, arguing that the initiative could alter the military balance in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean and urging Ankara to respond through diplomatic channels.
Yankı Bağcıoğlu, deputy chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) responsible for defense affairs, claimed that Greece’s reported plans to develop a multi-layered air defense system with Israeli support represent not only a military development but also what he described as a challenge to Turkey’s strategic interests.
CHP: Air Defense Plan Has Broader Geopolitical Implications
Speaking on the proposed defense project, Bağcıoğlu argued that the estimated €4 billion initiative should be viewed as more than a conventional military procurement.
“Greece’s agreement with Israel for an air defense system worth approximately €4 billion should be regarded not only as a military threat, but also as an undermining of international law,” he said.
His remarks reflect the CHP’s increasingly critical stance toward Greece’s growing defense cooperation with Israel, a partnership that has expanded significantly in recent years through joint military exercises, defense technology projects, and strategic dialogue.
Concerns Over Aegean Surveillance
Bağcıoğlu also claimed that advanced radar systems expected to form part of Greece’s future air defense architecture could provide continuous monitoring of air activity across much of the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, including areas near Turkey’s western coastline.
According to the CHP official, such capabilities could improve Greece’s operational awareness even during peacetime.
His comments appeared to refer to Greece’s broader plans to modernize its integrated air and missile defense network, a project that Greek officials have said aims to strengthen the country’s ability to respond to evolving regional security threats.
Criticism of Greece-Israel-Cyprus Cooperation
The CHP defense spokesman further argued that Israeli-made defense systems deployed in Greece and the Republic of Cyprus could eventually become more closely integrated, strengthening trilateral cooperation in areas such as early warning, intelligence sharing, and operational coordination.
Turkey has frequently criticized the growing strategic relationship between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, viewing it as part of a broader regional alignment that excludes Ankara.
Renewed Claims Over Aegean Islands
Bağcıoğlu also repeated Turkey’s longstanding position regarding the military presence on several Greek islands in the eastern Aegean, arguing that their militarization violates the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Treaty of Paris.
He called on the Turkish government to pursue diplomatic initiatives in international forums to challenge what he described as violations of those treaties.
Greece has consistently rejected Turkey’s interpretation of the treaties, maintaining that the defensive measures on its islands are lawful and necessary given Turkey’s military posture in the region, including the presence of the Aegean Army on the Turkish coast and Ankara’s longstanding casus belli declaration over any extension of Greek territorial waters beyond six nautical miles.
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