Ankara Informs Washington it Is Committed to Defending its Rights in East Med, Aegean

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (EPA)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (EPA)
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Ankara Informs Washington it Is Committed to Defending its Rights in East Med, Aegean

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (EPA)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (EPA)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief adviser Ibrahim Kalin in Istanbul on Sunday.

The two, whose meeting was unannounced to the media beforehand, discussed various bilateral and international issues, topped by the developments in the Aegean and the Mediterranean and the tension between Türkiye and Greece.

Kalin stressed that his country would never hesitate to defend its rights and interests in the Aegean and the Mediterranean and deemed Greece’s aggressive acts against international law “unacceptable.”

They underscored the importance of increasing bilateral cooperation based on their mutual interests and in line with implementing the strategic mechanism between the two countries.

They affirmed that completing the F-16 process would serve the two countries’ strategic interests.

The two sides further underlined Türkiye’s key role within NATO and the importance that allies act in solidarity and harmony against common security risks and all terror threats.

Talks also touched on the importance of focusing on diplomatic efforts to end the war on Ukraine immediately and in accordance with the international law.

Progress on NATO accession for Finland and Sweden was also tackled.

Last week, Ankara summoned the Greek ambassador and protested to Washington after accusing Greece of deploying US armored vehicles on two Aegean islands near the Turkish coast.

Greece and Türkiye, which are both part of NATO, have feuded for years over maritime borders and energy exploration rights in the Aegean and east Mediterranean seas.

The latest escalation started when Turkish security sources shared aerial images purportedly showing ships loaded with US armored vehicles docking at two Greek islands, Lesbos and Samos.

The United States responded to the protest lodged by Türkiye and stressed on Wednesday that Greek sovereignty over two islands was not in doubt.

In a note to the US embassy in Ankara, Türkiye told Washington that its “weapons should not be used in breach” of the islands’ agreed status.

Ankara threatened to boost defenses of the Turkish Cypriots in the north of the island, two weeks after Washington lifted a decades-old arms embargo on the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government located in the south of the island.

Erdogan slammed the US stances on Greece’s arming of the Aegean islands that should, according to international law, be demilitarized, as well as the conflict in the East Mediterranean.

“The US, which overlooks and even encourages the steps by the Cypriot-Greek duo that threaten peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, will lead to an armament race on the island with this step,” Erdogan stressed.



Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.