Former Turkish DM says Greece must evacuate its citizens & army from 9 Aegean islands

A former Secretary General of the so-called Turkish Ministry of National Defense claimed that Greece does not have sovereignty over several Aegean islands, such as Chios and Lesvos, and must evacuate them.“The legal status of the islands in the northern part of the Aegean Sea was determined by the 1914 decision of the six Great Powers and the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923,” said Ümit Yalım, Turkey’s former Secretary General for its so-called Ministry of National Defense.

“Greece was given only the right to use of the islands of the North Aegean and not the right of sovereignty,” he claimed without providing any evidence.

He however would go on to list the specific islands that he believes should not be under Greek sovereignty.

“The areas of sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction as well as the airspace of the islands of Thassos, Samothrace, Lemnos, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Psara and Agios Efstratios remained in Turkey,” he said.

He would then explain how the Treaty of Lausanne determines that many of Greece’s islands cannot be armed.

“Also, Article 13 of the Treaty of Lausanne decided that Greece would not use the islands for military purposes. Greece began arming the islands in the eastern Aegean in the early 1960s. Turkey first protested the militarization of the islands on June 29, 1964,” Yalım said.

“A Greek motorized brigade has been stationed in Chios. The territorial waters of Chios in which Greece conducts military exercises belong to Turkey. Greece clearly violates the agreements by conducting military exercises in Turkish territorial waters. Greece is playing with fire. Greece, having placed an army in the islands of the North Aegean, has lost the right to use them,” he said.

“Greece must evacuate the 9 islands from its citizens and its army inland and hand them over to Turkey,” he delusionally suggested.

However, what the former so-called Defense Minister failed to highlight is that Limnos and Samothrace have a right to be armed following the 1936 Montraux Treaty which replaced the Lausanne Treaty regarding these islands. In addition, the Lausanne Treaty makes no mention on the status of Lesvos, Chios, Samos and Ikaria.

UPDATE:

Yeni Şafak outlet, a favourite media services of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, first published the comments by Yalım, but have since deleted the article, Tourkika Nea has noticed.

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