UPDATE - Time for NATO to say 'stop' to Greece's 'impertinence,' says Turkish defense chief

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTER HULUSI AKAR

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Amid Türkiye's "well-intentioned approaches" to make the Aegean and Mediterranean a "sea of friendship," the country's defense chief on Saturday called on NATO to urge Greece to "stop" its "impertinence."

"Despite of our well-intentioned approaches, Greece continues to provoke and escalate tensions and its unlawful attitude," Hulusi Akar said at National Defense Ministry's year-end evaluation meeting.

Asserting that Greece has harassed Turkish jets taking part in NATO exercises twice in the last week, Akar said: "This hostile attitude clearly shows that Greece has become so arrogant that it disregards the basic principles and values of NATO. It's time for NATO to say 'stop' to this impertinence."

Türkiye expects Greek politicians and military officials to "immediately reverse their stubborn and provocative attitudes" that they adopted for domestic political purposes, urging them to resolve existing issues via dialogue.

Underlining that Greece should take a lesson from history, Akar also pointed to the events of Sept. 9, 1922, in Izmir, a city on Türkiye's western coast that was liberated from Greek occupation in the Turkish War of Independence.

Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, including arming islands near Turkish shores that are demilitarized under treaty obligations. It says that such moves frustrate its good faith efforts for peace.

On Sweden and Finland's NATO accession bids, Akar reiterated Türkiye's expectation from the two Nordic countries "to fulfill the commitments they signed in Madrid, in which is to cut their support to terrorists and to remove the restrictions they have imposed against Türkiye on the extradition list."

"It's that simple," he said.

The national defense minister also commented on the prospective US sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, saying that as Ankara works to "improve the approach of our US counterparts," it also expects a "positive and concrete" conclusion to the sale and modernization of aircraft from Washington.

Akar also emphasized the negative perceptions among Turkish and American public that hightened due to US support for PKK/YPG terrorists in Syria, accusations against Ankara of harming the fight against Daesh/ISIS, and Washington moving away from its former balanced policy in Türkiye and Greece relations and lifting its arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration.

"We expect the necessary measures and corrections from our ally and strategic partner, the United States, in these matters," he added.

Ankara requested F-16s and modernization kits in October 2021. The $6 billion deal would include the sale of 40 jets, as well as modernization kits for 79 warplanes that the Turkish Air Force already has in its inventory.

On the Turkish Armed Forces' operational figures, Akar said at least 3,982 terrorists had been "neutralized" since the beginning of the year in northern Iraq and Syria.

He noted that a total of 553 operations, including 100 large and 453 of medium scale, were carried out this year, while 4,103 caves used by terrorists were destroyed, around 2,800 weapons and more than 1 million pieces of ammunition were seized.

Türkiye is in close cooperation and coordination with Iraqi authorities in its operations in northern Iraq against PKK terrorists, Akar also said, adding that at least 506 terrorists were neutralized and nearly 2,000 mines and handmade explosives were destroyed, along with nearly 600 caves, shelters, and tunnels as part of Operation Claw-Lock.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

PKK terrorists have hideouts in northern Iraq, across the Turkish border, which they use to plot attacks on Türkiye.

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the terrorist group PKK's hideouts in the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by two operations – Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle – launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Since 2016, Ankara has also launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.