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Türkiye's Minister of National Defense, Yasar Guler, visited troops at the Arda Border Battalion under the 9th Border Brigade Command in Edirne on the Türkiye-Greece border on Wednesday for Eid al-Adha celebrations alongside the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) command cadre, and used the occasion to deliver a direct warning to regional actors pursuing unilateral moves on maritime and territorial issues.
"Our rights and interests in the Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus rest on historical, legal and legitimate foundations," Guler said in his address.
"In this context, I want to once again emphasize that we do not accept initiatives aimed at creating fait accompli, which are maximalist and contrary to the spirit of international treaties," he noted.
He added that the arming of islands that should remain in a non-military status was "incompatible with good neighborly relations, the spirit of alliance and international law," and said: "It should be very well known that we will not remain indifferent to any initiative targeting our sovereign rights, our security and our legitimate rights and interests in our seas."
Guler said Türkiye's approach across all regional issues, from the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean to Cyprus, prioritized dialogue and international law, but made clear this approach did not mean compromising on national rights.
"This approach of ours should never be understood to mean we will make concessions on our national rights and interests," he said.
The minister also addressed the broader regional security environment, noting that tensions along the U.S.-Iran-Israel axis in the south had deepened an already fragile Middle East security environment, and that Israel's attacks on Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region were "creating serious risks for regional security."
He said the Russia-Ukraine war's multidimensional security impact continued to be felt across the Black Sea and a wide geographic area.
Guler highlighted the EFES-2026 exercise conducted the previous week with participation from 50 countries as a demonstration of the Turkish Armed Forces' operational capability and readiness, and noted new-generation domestic systems, including the Yildirimhan, unveiled at SAHA EXPO.
President Erdogan joined the troops by telephone, calling Türkiye "a country that produces trust and stability in our region and in the world" on border security and the protection of land, air, and sea domains.
He cited EFES-2026 as having demonstrated that status to the world and thanked the troops for serving on Eid.
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