Turkey's Erdogan warns Greece to demilitarise Aegean islands

Tags: International News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 9 warned Greece to demilitarise islands in the Aegean Sea. 

• Turkey says Greece is increasing its military presence on the Aegean islands in violation of treaties.

• Turkey argues that the islands were ceded to Greece on the condition that they remain demilitarized.

• What is the dispute?

• Greece and Turkey are allies of NATO, but the two countries have a history of disputes on many issues.

• Some of the issues are mineral exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and rival claims in the Aegean Sea.

• Greece says Turkey deliberately misinterpreted the treaties.

• Turkey argues that this sea should be divided equally. 

• About Aegean Sea

• It is located between Anatolia and the Balkan Peninsula and spans Turkey and Greece.

• Nine of the 12 administrative regions of Greece are bordered by the sea.

• It has a surface area of about 215,000 km2.

• Its maximum length is about 700 km and width is 400 km.

• The Aegean is divided into the Myrtoian Sea and the Thracian Sea.

• It is a major cause of dispute between Turkey and Greece, affecting relations between the two countries since the 1970s.