Greece responds strongly to Turkish statement on Aegean islands

Greece's foreign ministry has responded strongly to a claim by its Turkish counterpart that Greece wants to drag NATO into a dispute between itself and Turkey.

Earlier Sunday, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy denounced "the attempts of Greece, our neighbour and Ally, to abuse international organizations, including NATO, and draw them into these disputes with the aim of justifying her national positions," adding they are not new.

Aksoy reiterated Turkey's current position that "(t)he Eastern Aegean islands were put under demilitarized status by virtue of several international agreements, including the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the Treaty of Paris of 1947" and that, therefore, "the military vessels operating in the Aegean Sea under the NATO Activity would refrain from visiting the Aegean islands under demilitarized status according to international law...