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Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias incurred the wrath of Türkiye, though Ankara was more diplomatic than the hawkish minister of the country’s historic foe.
Defense Ministry sources on Thursday downplayed the minister’s claim that the Turkish army posed a threat to Greece. “But it also has the power and determination to eliminate any threat against it,” sources said.
The sources said remarks and actions by the Greek officials were escalating tensions, actions violating international treaties and unrealistic statements did nothing but “damage the positive atmosphere built on an agreement between the leaders of the two countries.”
Dendias announced at an event in Athens last week that Greece would radically overhaul its defense doctrine, issuing remarks targeting Türkiye. Accusing Türkiye of being “the greatest threat” to his country, Dendias said Greece would deploy missiles across hundreds of islands. Speaking at an event titled “Greece in a Global Perspective,” in Athens, Dendias repeated his claim that Türkiye poses a threat to Greece.
“Greece has lived in contradiction since it joined NATO in 1952. The greatest threat to NATO member Greece comes from another NATO member, Türkiye. Greece is defending itself, while Türkiye is threatening,” he claimed.
He then announced plans to abandon the doctrine that “the army protects the land, the navy protects the sea, and fighter jets protect the air,” outlining the new approach. “As before, relying on the navy to defend the Aegean makes no sense. New frigates and new warships are extremely expensive tools for limited operations in the narrow Aegean and are vulnerable to modern threats. A frigate worth 1 billion euros can be destroyed by a drone worth a few thousand euros. That is why we have completely changed our doctrine. The Aegean will not be protected solely by the navy. It will be protected primarily by mobile missile systems deployed across hundreds – if not thousands – of islands. We will seal off the Aegean Sea from land (referring to the islands). This will also free naval operations from being restricted to this narrow sea,” he said.
After a long period of tensions marked by disputes over irregular migration, the Cyprus dispute, energy exploration and territorial sovereignty in the Aegean, Ankara and Athens have been taking confidence-building steps for a fragile normalization of their relations since late 2023.
The normalization sustained momentum in the past two years, with talks between leaders as well as sporadic high-level meetings of top officials to discuss sources of dispute.
Yet, both countries stand firm in their maritime rights, which are still not fully agreed upon after decades of hostilities dating back to the post-World War I period.
Turkish Defense Ministry sources said Türkiye was closely watching all developments in the region, including Greece’s military activities. They said keeping the Aegean Sea dividing the two countries as a region of peace and stability was the country’s priority and Türkiye was fulfilling its responsibilities to that extent.
“The initiatives targeting Türkiye failed in the past and will fail in the future,” the sources said.
Under the “Achilles’ Shield” project, Greece aims to deploy five different types of missile systems on Aegean islands and near the Turkish-Greek land border. Greece plans to purchase a significant share of these systems from Israel.
Türkiye also started creating its own “Steel Dome” Project for defense. Announced in August last year, the Steel Dome aims to provide integrated protection against low, medium and high-altitude threats through land-based and sea-based air defense platforms and sensors developed at home.
The architecture crowns years of investments that have helped Türkiye transform from a nation heavily reliant on equipment from abroad to one where homegrown systems meet almost all of its defense industry needs. It foresees integration of locally developed missile batteries, radars, electro-optical sensors, communications modules and command-and-control centers.
