Turkey: Manifesto of claims by the Chief of the Turkish Navy Grand Admiral Ertsumed Tatlio?lu against Greece
Translation/Gist; Nickolaos Mavromates
Turkish Grand Admiral Ertsumed Tatlio?lu raises once more the issue of demilitarization of the Greek islands, disputes the Hellenic maritime zones even south of Crete and claims that never in history has there been Greek sovereignty in the Aegean Sea - Attack on the US, NATO and the USA.? In a rant against Greece, Turkish Navy Commander, Admiral, Ertsumed Tatlio?lu openly disturbs the atmosphere ahead of the High Cooperation Council between Greece and Turkey on December 7, 2023and raises concerns whether it was his initiative or whether Ankara is trying to send messages to Athens.?
This anti-Hellenic manifesto is being formulated a few days after the meeting that took place in Ankara on implementing Confidence Building Measures, where the two sides tried to send positive messages. In reality these statements should be condemned by the Turkish government, otherwise they will leave a heavy shadow, as Grand Admiral Tatlio?lu is not a mere senior officer, but is the operational commander of the Turkish Navy, who is also responsible for its field operations in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Turkish admiral in his speech yesterday at the Naval School of Naval Officers on the "133rd anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Naval Noncommissioned Officer Schools" attacked Greece vehemently, accusing our country of having no rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, and attempting to exclude Turkey with the support of the US and France, and raised the whole range of claims: From the demilitarization of islands and the issuance of NAVTEX for exercises, to grey zones and the contestation of maritime zones even south of Crete.
Admiral Tatlio?lu, however, also attacked the Americans and in a way that rather facilitated Russia, by recalling the restrictions set by the Montreux Treaty, and also, he said that neither the Americans nor NATO have any business in the Black Sea and the security of the region which is protected by Turkey, which "does not want to see the Black Sea turn into a new Middle East".
Much of his speech, however, was directed against Greece, with his initial statement denouncing our country that together with the "Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus", Israel and Egypt have formed a bloc against Turkey with the support of France and America. The Grand Turkish admiral warns that Greece will not be allowed any activity in the maritime zones it has declared (ed. illegally) declared by Turkey as its EEZ and reveals that the Turkish Navy has blocked a total of 35 research vessels that, without its permission, have attempted to carry out research in the Eastern Mediterranean, including research to map the area where the East Med will pass. "These are very serious incidents that bring us to the brink of war," he said. "These are very serious incidents that bring us to the brink of war," he said.
Arguing that there has been no Greek sovereignty in the Aegean throughout history, Grand Admiral Tatlio?lu stressed that "of the 8 main problems with Greece, 7 are related to the Navy and Greece, instead of seeking solutions, is making moves that cause tensions". Making a special reference to the Greek armament programs and in order to support the request for an increase in the budget and the construction of new ships for the Turkish Navy, the Turkish admiral referred to the order of 4 Belharra frigates and 24 Rafale, while he referred to the American military presence in our country, saying that "the US has become our neighbor to the west...".
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Reiterating the claims of demilitarization, he said that there are 3 bases in Greece on islands with demilitarized status and that in total 19 out of 23 islands are equipped, for which the obligation of demilitarization is supposedly in force. But there was also a reference to "grey zones", with the Turkish admiral stating that "there are our islands and islets whose sovereignty and ownership is disputed", to which, he said, "Greeks organize visits trying to show the islands as their own".
But the Turkish Naval Commander also indirectly recorded the casus belli, saying that Greece, by increasing its territorial waters in the West to 12 nautical miles in 2020, is trying to send the message that "if it finds the opportunity, it will increase its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. He accused Greece of harassing Turkey's maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters and ships (he obviously means when they violate Greek territorial waters and airspace).
He even invoked the agreement with Italy, claiming that in this agreement Greece accepted limited maritime jurisdiction over the islands, while when discussing with Turkey "it wants 41,000 square kilometers of maritime jurisdiction for the Greek island of Kastelorizo, which has an area of 10 square kilometers". He even accused Greece of seeking to exclude the Turkish Navy from the Aegean Sea with the NAVTEX it issues for exercises.
Referring to a power competition in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish admiral said that no state in the Eastern Mediterranean can declare maritime jurisdictions on its own, accusing not only Cyprus but also Greece that "by declaring various maritime jurisdictions south of Crete, it is trying to acquire on its own the wealth that is located there."
He also warned that within the areas of Turkish jurisdiction (the "Blue Homeland") "we will not allow anyone (to enter). We declare that all the riches in this area belong to Turkey which has entrusted the exploration to the state-owned company TPAO...".
Regarding Cyprus, the Turkish Grand Admiral said that Turkey "does not want any force that could pose a threat to Turkey to come to any part of Cyprus" as the island is of strategic importance, being at the exit of the Suez Canal and controlling the entire Eastern Mediterranean, while announcing that Turkey is building the Famagusta base so that its naval forces can be permanently stationed there.
Grand Admiral Tatlio?lu also sees a "Greek finger" behind the European Operation IRINI, believing that Greece, with the support of France, lured Europe into imposing control over ships arriving in Libya in order to block Ankara's relations with Tripoli and the aid Turkey provides to that country.