"Expressing my sincere condolences and sadness for the devastating earthquake in Turkey, I sent a message of support to Turkish Foreign Minister Hulusi Akar, assuring him that Greece is providing assistance to the struggling people, with the first C-130 already arriving in Incirlik" says the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos in a post on social media, thus showing that Greece is ready to help the Turkish people who are being tested.
The Turkish embassy, for its part, informing Turkish citizens of the friendship and support on behalf of the Greek leadership, proceeded in a post on Twitter, in which it specifically writes: "The President of the Hellenic Republic Sakellaropoulou and the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who spoke on the phone with President Erdoğan due to the earthquake, expressed their condolences for the loss of life and wished the injured a speedy recovery."
This is on a political level, of course, because on other levels, even today, Turkey has continued to question Greek sovereign rights.
Although Turkish flying activity was nil in the Athens FIR, which is natural as the Turkish Air Force wanted to focus on the flying work especially of the transport aircraft that transport materials and rescue personnel from Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara to the affected areas, the Turkey at the military-diplomatic level challenged Greek sovereign rights in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Specifically, on the occasion of a Greek exercise with fire on the western coast of Chios from tomorrow until February 9, the hydrographic service of Turkey issued an illegal NAVTEX with which it requests that the exercise not take place, as Chios states that it is a demilitarized island and that Greece with this move violates the relevant Treaty of Lausanne.
The position of Athens is as follows:
"The status of the islands of Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria
As for the aforementioned islands, nowhere in the Lausanne Peace Treaty is it stipulated that they will be under a demilitarized regime.
The Greek Government only undertook the obligation, in accordance with Article 13 of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, not to install naval bases or fortifications there. In particular, the above article provides for the following:
"To ensure peace, the Greek Government is obliged to observe the following measures on the islands of Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria:
• The mentioned islands will not be used for the installation of a naval base or for the construction of a fortification project.
• Greek military aircraft will be prohibited from overflying the territory of the Anatolian coast. Accordingly, the Ottoman Government will prohibit its military aircraft from flying over the said islands.
• The Greek military forces on the mentioned islands will be limited to the usual number of those called up for military service, who can be trained on the spot, as well as a force of gendarmerie and police proportional to the force of the entire Greek territory if they existed".
While Greece has until now consistently applied the above provisions, Turkey, despite the fact that it is obliged according to the same article not to allow its military aircraft to fly over the airspace of the Greek islands in question, has repeatedly violated and continues to breach its relevant legal obligations.
On the other hand, the same article allows Greece to maintain a normal number of soldiers called up for military service, who can be trained on the spot, as well as Gendarmerie and Police forces.
Turkey, questioning Greek sovereign rights in the Eastern Mediterranean on the occasion of a Greek aeronautical exercise for tomorrow in an area east of the Karpathos, issued an illegal NAVTEX with the same coordinates and time horizon saying that the hydrographic station of Heraklion issued an instruction to seafarers located in the area " Turkish" jurisdiction and that is why the Turkish Hydrographic Service issued its own for the safety of seafarers...
