Turkey's Defense Minister Yasar Guler called for dialogue with Greece on Wednesday while drawing a firm line: Ankara wil...

Turkey's Defense Minister Yasar Guler called for dialogue with Greece on Wednesday while drawing a firm line: Ankara will not give ground on what it considers its rights and interests in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Guler said Turkey wants communication channels between Athens and Ankara kept open and mutual trust strengthened, calling for disputes to be handled through international law, good-neighborly relations, and constructive dialogue. He said Ankara also wants to expand cooperation across both seas and resolve differences through diplomacy. But the message came with clear conditions. Guler said Turkey cannot accept any approach that, in its view, works against Turkish rights and interests, increases tension, or makes problems harder to resolve. His exact words left little room for ambiguity: a commitment to peaceful dispute resolution does not equal a willingness to concede. He closed with what amounted to a direct warning, saying Turkey has both the means and capabilities to protect the rights it claims under international law, along with the political will to act decisively if it judges that necessary. The statement comes as Greece-Turkey relations face fresh strain following eastern Libya's parliament ratifying a 2019 maritime deal with Turkey, a deal Athens has consistently rejected as illegal and which overlaps with Greece's own maritime claims. Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at Greece's Oxi Day military parade in Thessaloniki, emphasizing peace, national sovereignty, and the importance of military deterrence. Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis has reiterated Greece's position that maritime boundary disputes belong exclusively before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and that Athens is pursuing stability without compromising its strategic interests. #GreeceTurkey #Aegean #EasternMediterranean