Turks warn Greece not to protect their Aegean island territories or to strengthen partnership with Israel
This is based on the fact that Greece was once part of the Ottoman Empire. Kalın and Erdogan are proceeding from the assumption that any land once ruled by Islam belongs by right to Islam forever, which is based on the Qur’anic command: “Drive them out from where they drove you out” (2:191). This is the same rationale that the “Palestinians” use, and witless and/or opportunistic leftists fall for it eagerly. Watch for it also in Spain.
Kalın, of course, has it precisely backwards. While Greece was indeed part of the Ottoman Empire until 1821, the whole of the Ottoman Empire itself was on stolen land. Stolen from whom? The Greeks.
“What Kalın’s Visit to Greece Means as Turkey Prepares for War,” by Christos Konstantinidis, Middle East Forum, September 16, 2026:
On August 28, 2026, İbrahim Kalın, head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT), visited Athens without prior announcement to meet with his Greek counterpart, National Intelligence Service (EYP) Director Emeritus Themistoklis Demiris. Kalın’s presence, however, acquired greater significance when he then met privately with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion, the official seat of the Greek premiership.
Turkish media subsequently revealed the purpose of Kalın’s mission. The pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak reported that the MİT chief had spoken “openly and clearly” in Athens and delivered four messages: Turkey would not retreat from its positions; it would not allow Greece to create “faits accompli” in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean; it would not accept strengthening Greek islands’ defenses; and it regards Greece’s strategic partnership with Israel as the “wrong path.” This was effectively a Turkish ultimatum.
The timing of the visit was also significant. It took place as Greece and Israel were advancing an agreement on the “Achilles Shield,” a multi-layered air and missile defense system. At the same time, the Republic of Cyprus is strengthening its defenses with Israeli-made Barak MX systems, while the prospect of integrating the defensive shields of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel has come to the forefront once again.
Turkey fears a deterrence architecture that would restrict its ability to intimidate Athens, Nicosia, and Jerusalem separately. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Greece not to deploy new weapons systems on the islands, adding that history is “a very good guide for those who draw lessons from it.” Mitsotakis responded that Greece does not accept instructions on how to defend its national sovereignty….
The 2024 Kasos incident demonstrated what happens when resolve gives way to fear of escalation. The Greek government appears to have realized—belatedly and under electoral pressure—that appeasement has not changed Turkey. It has merely given Ankara time, space, and the conviction that its pressure tactics work….