Türkiye vows to 'do what's necessary' over Greek military chief's photo on Aegean island

By Harun Kutbe

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's vice president lashed out on Friday over a photo of neighboring Greece's military chief posing on an Aegean Sea island that should be unarmed under international treaties, located just miles from the Turkish coast.

"Türkiye allows no such photos and will do what's necessary," said Fuat Oktay in an interview by a Turkish YouTube channel, referring to the photo by Greek Chief of General Staff Gen. Konstantinos Floros on the island of Keci (Pserimos), 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) southwest of Türkiye's Bodrum peninsula.

Citing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's oft-repeated warning that Türkiye could "come suddenly one night," Oktay said Ankara's words were not "empty" and that it would do "as it says."

The Turkish vice president also noted that Türkiye was on track to become an energy hub thanks to its relations with other countries, adding that "credibility is required for both international relations and diplomacy," he added.

After talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Erdogan had announced that Ankara and Moscow would work together on building a natural gas hub in Thrace after a proposal from Russia.