Erdogan warns Greece over alleged airspace breach

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned Greece it would pay a "heavy price" if it keeps allegedly harassing Turkish fighter jets over the Aegean Sea.

He also accused Turkey's neighbor of occupying islands in the Aegean that have a demilitarized status dating back to the two World Wars. 

What threats did Erdogan make?

The Turkish leader spoke at a packed rally in the Black Sea city of Samsun, warning Greece not to repeat alleged airspace violations against Turkish fighter jets.

"Take a look at history" and "don't forget Izmir," Erdogan said, in a reference to a crushing defeat of occupying Greek forces in the western city by the Turkish military in 1922. "If you go further, you will pay a heavy price."

While also accusing Greece of illegally arming islands in the Aegean Sea, in defiance of treaties signed after the two World Wars, Erdogan said: "We will do what is necessary when the time comes. As we say, we can come suddenly one night."

Erdogan has stepped up his rhetoric on foreign policy recently as he prepares for the biggest electoral challenge of his nearly 20-year rule next year.

His comments Saturday were similar to those used to threaten a military operation in Syria. They risk sparking a dangerous escalation between the two Aegean neighbors.

Why are Greece and Turkey at loggerheads?

NATO members Greece and Turkey have sea and air boundary disputes that go back centuries, including the 1974 division of Cyprus as well as the discovery of fossil fuels in the Mediterranean Sea.

The friction has brought them to the brink of war three times in the last half-century.

The Aegean Sea has complex geography with over 2,000 islands, most of them Greek.

In recent weeks, Turkey has accused Greece of using Russian-made S-300 missile systems in Crete to lock onto Turkish jets. Ankara has also said Greek F-16s harassed Turkish jets by putting them under a radar lock during a NATO mission over the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece has rejected the claims and accused Turkey of violating its airspace.

Turkey, meanwhile, claims Greece is violating international agreements by militarizing islands in the Aegean Sea.

Athens argues that soldiers are deployed on the islands to fend off vessels approaching from Turkey's west coast.

The disputes lead to near-daily air force patrols and interception missions, mostly around Greek islands near Turkey's coastline.

Relations nosedived after rare talks

Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held rare talks over lunch in Istanbul in March, but relations soon soured again over competition between the two neighbors for US arms.

Athens made a formal request in June for US-made F-35 fighter jets, while Turkey is negotiating for F-16 purchases after being refused F-35s due to accepting the delivery of an advanced Russian missile defense system in 2019.

Erdogan said in July that Turkey didn't want war with Greece, but added the country should stop violating Turkish airspace.

Two years ago, they came to the brink of military confrontation when both dispatched vessels to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters to search for energy resources.

mm/wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)