Neither Turkey, nor Greece wants a hot incident: Athens

Duvar English

Turkey warns Greece to be careful against 'bad jokes' after Athens expresses 'readiness for military conflict'

The Eastern Mediterranean remains a “hot spot," but neither Greece nor Turkey wants a “hot incident," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' Deputy National Security Advisor Thanos Dokos said.

Speaking at the Delphi Economic Forum, Dokos said that the Eastern Mediterranean is still in a fluid state, and the European Union should come up with new ways to resume cooperation with Turkey.

While calling the Eastern Mediterranean "a zero point," Dokos said that despite the number of players, no one controls the situation.

"The EU is a simple observer and the United States has many internal problems. In Libya, the situation has gotten out of control. Syria remains a problem, and the only positive thing is that, fortunately, refugee flows have declined significantly," he said.

On June 10, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he was certain that Greeks would not want an armed conflict with Turkey over maritime disputes in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greek defense minister says Athens ready for military conflict with Turkey

“I want to underline in a mathematical certainty that Greeks would not want to stage a war with Turkey,” Akar told the private broadcaster A Haber in an interview.

Akar was responding to comments made by Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos who said last week that his country was ready for a possible military conflict with Turkey to defend its sovereign rights in the Mediterranean.

“[His statement] is a slip of tongue,” Akar said.

Asked about an ongoing discussion about whether to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Akar said it is a “domestic issue” of Turkey and no country can have a say in it.

He also called on Athens to resume technical talks for the resolution of bilateral problems.