FM: Turkey will take steps against illegal Greek military exercises on island of Kos

Turkey will take the necessary steps in response to Greece's military activity on the island of Kos, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hüseyin Müftüoğlu has warned.

“We will not refrain from taking the necessary steps in accordance with our country's political and legal positions toward the Aegean Sea," Müftüoğlu said.

“Greek media reported that paratroopers from the Greek special forces yesterday carried out a military exercise on the island of Kos. The 1947 Paris Peace Treaty prohibits any kind of military training activity on the island of Kos, which was left to Greece by Italy on condition that it was disarmed," he added.

Müftüoğlu called on Greece to refrain from escalating tensions between the two neighbors.

“The exercise on Kos is a clear violation of international law. In this regard, we invite our Greek neighbors to refrain from unilateral acts that violate international law and cause tension, acts that are out of their depth," he said.

Located in the southeastern Aegean Sea off Turkey's Anatolian coast, Kos was transferred from the United Kingdom to Greece in 1947 as part of the Paris Peace Treaty on the condition that it be a demilitarized zone.