Greek Foreign Minister Vows Strong Response to Turkish Maritime Provocations

Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis warned on August 24 that Greece is fully prepared to defend its sovereign rights amid rising tensions with Turkey over maritime activities. Speaking in an interview with Greek channel OPEN TV, Gerapetritis emphasized that Athens will respond to any Turkish provocations from a position of strength, stating, "We will do whatever is necessary." He highlighted Greece's demonstrated military capabilities, including deploying frigates and F-16 fighter jets, and noted plans to introduce F-35 jets next year.

While affirming Greece's readiness for military action, Gerapetritis also stressed the importance of maintaining diplomatic communication channels with Ankara. He said Athens intends to continue dialogue with Turkey despite existing disputes, noting that recent talks have yielded positive results in various areas.

The minister underscored Greece's strengthened regional position, attributing it partly to trilateral alliances with Israel and Cyprus and close ties with the United States. He described these partnerships as significantly enhancing Greece's security capabilities. Greek sources told N12 that cooperation with Israel has intensified recently, especially in light of escalating tensions between Israel and Turkey. This includes joint military exercises and ongoing negotiations for a major arms deal involving Israeli air defense systems and Elbit's PULS technology worth billions of shekels.

Greek officials indicated that the arms procurement aims to bolster defense against Turkish threats and that the deal is expected to conclude before Greece's 2027 elections. The renewed military and diplomatic cooperation reflects Greece's strategy to counterbalance Turkish assertiveness in the Eastern Mediterranean while keeping open channels for dialogue.