AP

Greek PM slams map showing major Greek islands as Turkish

Jul 10, 2022, 6:18 PM | Updated: Jul 11, 2022, 6:22 am

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister called Monday on Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to clarify whether a map displayed by a nationalist ally of Erdogan’s that showed several major, inhabited Greek islands as Turkish is official Turkish policy.

Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads for decades over a series of issues, including disputes over undersea exploration rights in the Aegean Sea and the sovereignty of uninhabited islets. The two neighbors have come to the brink of war three times in the past half century.

Tensions have again increased over the past two years. Recent quarrels have focused on Greek islands off Turkey’s coast, where Ankara accuses Athens of maintaining a military presence in violation of treaties. Greece counters it is acting according to international law and is defending its islands in the face of Turkish hostility.

“Take a good look at this map. Crete, Rhodes, Lesvos, Chios, Samos all consumed by Turkey,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted Monday, along with a photo of Devlet Bahceli, the leader of a nationalist party allied with Erdogan, holding up a map showing Crete, Greece’s largest island, and all eastern Aegean Greek islands as being Turkish.

“? fever dream of extremists or Turkey’s official policy? Another provocation or the true goal? President Erdogan must make his position clear on his junior coalition partner’s latest antics,” Mitsotakis tweeted.

The map was a gift to Bahceli from the ultranationalist Grey Wolves group, the youth organization affiliated with Bahceli’s National Movement Part, or MHP.

Grey Wolves head Ahmet Yigit Yildirim tweeted the photo with Bahceli and the map on Sunday, saying it was “to show the national consciousness’ border of our islands where the glorious Turkish flag fluttered for hundreds of years but that were usurped by Greece.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Greek PM slams map showing major Greek islands as Turkish