A retired Turkish lieutenant general has threatened that French, Italian, and Greek warships could be sunk by missile fi...

A retired Turkish lieutenant general has threatened that French, Italian, and Greek warships could be sunk by missile fire, warning NATO allies to stay out of Eastern Mediterranean exercises with Greece. Retired Lt. Gen. Ismail Hakki Pekin, a former Turkish military intelligence chief, made the remarks in a video that drew wide attention this week. He objected strongly to Greece conducting joint naval exercises with French and Italian warships, calling it "a very great danger." He warned that if missiles were fired at those ships, the French and Italian vessels would be in the crosshairs alongside the Greek ones. Pekin did not stop there. He said that if anyone expects concessions from Turkey, "they will wait a very long time," and added that if necessary, "a few missiles could send a few ships to the bottom of the sea." He then directed a warning specifically at France and Italy, telling both countries to "be careful." On Greece and Cyprus, Pekin was particularly sharp. He dismissed the Republic of Cyprus as the "Greek Cypriot administration" and said that Greece and Cyprus "have not suffered enough yet," but that "they will learn, and they will learn very soon." The Turkish government has not endorsed these remarks, and Pekin holds no active military command. He is a retired officer. However, Pekin is a prominent public voice in Turkey on defense and security matters, and his comments reflect a current of thinking within Turkish strategic circles that views Greek-European military cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean as a direct provocation. Greece has been deepening defense ties with France in particular since the two countries signed a mutual defense clause in their 2021 bilateral agreement. Joint naval exercises between Greece, France, and Italy have become more frequent since then. #Greece #Turkey #EasternMediterranean