Greek Defense Minister: We will protect Greek sovereignty from Turkish aggression, even if we have to use military force

ATHENS – Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos threatened the Turkish government with “resorting to a military solution” if Turkey continues to undermine Greek sovereignty, stating, “Our country will do everything to deter Turkey’s aggression, in case it increases its provocations to Greece.”

In an interview with Skai TV, Panagiotopoulos stated that his country will do everything in order to protect its sovereign rights, including military action against Turkey in case of provocations. He also indicated that the Greek Defense Ministry has noted increased Turkish provocations recently.

“Turkey’s behavior has been very aggressive recently,” he continued. “I believe that our only way to deal with this behavior, which generally tends to be aggression, is to use all diplomatic weapons, as well as ensure an increased capacity of our army to deter any aggression.”

The Greek minister stated that his country does not want military action but will do its best to protect the sovereign rights of Greece.

A few days ago, a Turkish government owned newspaper published a request for a Turkish oil company to apply for an exploration license covering an area near Greek islands.

Yesterday, the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his country intends to work with the Libyan Government of National Accord in the exploration and development of oil and gas fields in the Mediterranean.