Greek Defense Minister warns Turkey against questioning borders

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos warned Ankara against attempts to reconsider the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, under which Turkey ceded parts of Eastern Thrace and certain Aegean islands to Greece, a source familiar with the matter told RIA Novosti Thursday, November 24, Sputnik reports.

On Wednesday, Kammenos received a courtesy visit of new Turkish Ambassador to Athens Yasar Halit Cevik.

"The [Greek defense] minister was resolute. We do not want war, Greece is a peaceful country, we do not seek confrontation with anyone, but we will never abandon our sovereign rights," the source familiar with the agenda of the meeting said.

In September, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the Lausanne Treaty saying it was forced on Turkey by its opponents. He added that Turkey ceded islands with Turkish sanctuaries and mosques to Greece under the treaty.

Following Erdogan's remarks about the 1923 treaty, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that the Turkish leader's statements threatened bilateral ties between Ankara and Athens.

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed following World War I and replaced the Treaty of Sevres, which stipulated the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. It defined the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey and included provisions under which Ankara lost control over vast territories, which are now parts of Syria, Greece, Libya, Saudi Arabia and other countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. The treaty was signed on July 24, 1923, by the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Turkey.