Greece warned over flag raising on Aegean islet

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Monday warned Greece over raising a Greek flag on an uninhabited islet in the Aegean Sea.

“We advise Greece to remain within the context of neighbourhood law and avoid provocations that would increase tensions,’’ Yildirim told newsmen while attending a panel in Istanbul.

Yildirim said Greece recently raised a flag on an islet off Turkey’s Didim district in the province of Aydin, but the flag was removed following the intervention of the Turkish coast guards.

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“We especially expect them to think that we will not give up the sovereignty rights of our country,’’ he said, adding Turkey is ready to give necessary response to such actions.

Turkey and Greece came to the brink of war in 1996 over a sovereignty dispute on the islets of Kardak, or Imia in Greek, in the Aegean Sea.