Erdogan warns Greece 'not to mess' with Türkiye in the Aegean

Ankara has no problem with neigbouring Greece as long as it "does not mess" with Türkiye in the Aegean Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"As long as you do not mess with us in the Aegean, we won't mess with you," Erdogan told a ceremony in the southern Antalya province on Saturday.

His words came months after Türkiye test-fired its domestically produced short-range ballistic missile Tayfun (Typhoon). The missile can hit a target at a distance of 561 kilometres (349 miles) in 456 seconds.

"We fired the Tayfun (Typhoon). How far is Tayfun's range? 561 kilometres. What did the Greeks do? Newspapers immediately made headlines: 'They will hit Athens.' We don't have such problem as long as you don't mess with us in the Aegean," he said.

During his speech, Erdogan hailed the country's growing defence industry, saying every country "envies" the combat drone Bayraktar TB2 and unmanned fighter jet, Kizilelma, both developed domestically by Türkiye. 

Türkiye has complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, including arming islands near Turkish shores that are demilitarised under treaty obligations. 

As a NATO member for over 70 years, Türkiye says that such moves by Greece frustrate its good faith efforts towards peace.

Both countries have overlapping claims in the Eastern Mediterranean and the islands of the Aegean. In 2020, the two sides came to the brink of military conflict as tensions rose over energy resources in the eastern Meditarennean.

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