Reiterating that Greece must demilitarize its islands, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar opposed the official weekend celebrations of nearby Chios and Samos, calling them a "provocation".
Speaking to the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, Akar also claimed that the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 states that there are 23 islands that cannot be militarized and that 16 of them are (militarized).
His remarks followed a Twitter post by the Turkish Defense Ministry showing cadets sailing to the Turkish islands of Tuzla, similar in distance to Turkey to the southeastern Greek Aegean island of Kastelorizo. On December 24, Akar challenged Greece's maritime zone around Kastelorizo, saying it was only 1,950 meters from the Turkish coast. "A cadet at the military academy can swim up to him," he said.
Also Monday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is questioning the sovereignty of the islands, which have been militarized.
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