Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Greece to stop arming Aegean islands that Ankara considers to have demilitarized status, warning that Turkey would “do what is necessary” if Athens continued its defense buildup.
Erdogan made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking to journalists aboard his plane as he returned from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Asked how Turkey would respond if Greece continued strengthening its military presence on the islands, Erdogan said: “What should we do? What is our duty? To do what is necessary.”
“Greece must turn back from this wrong path and stop arming the islands that have demilitarized status,” the Turkish president added. “History is a very good guide for those who learn lessons from it.”
Erdogan claimed Ankara wanted relations with Athens to develop on the basis of good neighborliness but had not always seen its initiatives reciprocated.
“We have been sincere on every issue. We have been the constructive side. However, most of the time, we have not seen a response to our goodwill,” he said.
The Turkish president maintained that his country had no territorial ambitions against Greece or any other state while warning that Ankara would defend what it considers its rights.
“Turkey has no designs on anyone’s territory, but it will not allow anyone to violate its rights,” Erdogan said. “Anyone who interprets Turkey’s calm and reasonable approach as weakness is making a grave mistake.”
Long-running dispute over the Greek islands
Turkey has for decades challenged the military status of several Greek islands in the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese, citing provisions contained in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.
Athens rejects Ankara’s interpretation and maintains that the legal status of the islands and Greek sovereignty over them are firmly established by international treaties.
The Greek Foreign Ministry says the Lausanne Treaty does not impose complete demilitarization on Lesvos, Chios, Samos, and Ikaria. Instead, it places specific restrictions on naval bases and fortifications while allowing Greece to maintain regular military, police, and gendarmerie forces.
Greece also argues that the 1936 Montreux Convention replaced the earlier demilitarization provisions governing Limnos and Samothrace. Regarding the Dodecanese, Athens notes that Turkey was not a signatory to the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty and therefore cannot invoke its provisions.
The Greek government has repeatedly said that maintaining defensive forces on the islands is necessary because of Turkey’s large military presence along the nearby coast, Ankara’s longstanding threat of war should Greece extend its territorial waters in the Aegean, and the right to self-defense recognized under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
In March 2026, the Greek Foreign Ministry described Turkey’s demilitarization claims as “unfounded” and said that the country’s defensive posture was “non-negotiable.”
Erdogan’s latest remarks revive one of the most sensitive disputes between the two NATO allies despite the diplomatic dialogue that Athens and Ankara have maintained in recent years. Greece has made clear that questions involving its sovereignty and the deployment of its armed forces are not open to negotiation with Turkey.
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