Ankara warns Athens: We will make Türkiye’s strength clear to all

Türkiye’s Defence Ministry has slammed Greece’s alleged attempts to sideline Ankara from EU defence projects, warning such efforts are bound to fail, amid rising tensions between the NATO allies.

The spokesman for Türkiye’s Ministry of Defence, Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, criticised on X post the Greek Foreign Ministry’s attempts to marginalise Türkiye in European defence cooperation, Caliber.Az  reports.

“Efforts to ignore Türkiye’s vital role in the region and its contribution to European security are bound to fail,” said Aktürk.

He denounced Greece’s attempts to internationalise bilateral issues and portray Türkiye as a party to be excluded. “Bringing bilateral disputes to multilateral platforms and adopting an exclusionary stance is neither an act of goodwill nor a wise move,” he stated.

Aktürk emphasised that as a NATO and OSCE member and an EU candidate country, Türkiye remains an integral part of Europe’s security architecture. He pointed to Türkiye’s growing defence industry, its active role in regional crisis management, and its powerful military as key pillars of this role.

“We will continue explaining the strength of Türkiye to those who fail to understand it,” he declared.

The Rear Admiral also underlined that Türkiye and the EU share long-term strategic interests in areas such as defence, security, counter-terrorism, and curbing illegal migration.

“We believe that European security can only be strengthened through inclusivity, strategic foresight, and collective solidarity—qualities that require a visionary approach,” Aktürk concluded.

By Aghakazim Guliyev