![Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on September 06, 2022. [Murat Kula - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AA-20220906-28829133-28829132-TURKISH_PRESIDENT_RECEP_TAYYIP_ERDOGAN_IN_BOSNIA_AND_HERZEGOVINA.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The former defence minister of Greece, Evangelos Apostolakis, has urged that warnings from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should be taken seriously. Apostolakis, who served previously as chief of staff, said during a television interview that Erdogan got across the message that Turkiye is serious about its threats.
“We should know very well that we must take these matters seriously, and when Erdogan says ‘we may take you by surprise,’ he is threatening that if we do not willingly agree to share the Aegean [Sea] as Turkiye wishes, he might make this happen by force,” Apostolakis told the Greek station Skai TV.
Erdogan warned Greece last Saturday against continuing with its provocative practices, adding that Ankara does not recognise the Greek occupation of some islands. “Your occupying the islands does not bind us,” said the Turkish leader. “When the time, the hour, comes, we will do what is necessary.”
READ: Greece plans to extend fence on land border with Turkiye