Turkish Recep Erdogan has invoked the memory of the Ottoman Empire and their conquests over Europe as he made an inflammatory speech rousing nationalist sentiment in Turkey.
In the speech, he threatened France directly and called Greeks' invaders'.
The statement comes as France sends naval forces to the eastern Mediterranean and the Greek state remains on high-alert as Erdogan pursues an oil exploration and extraction policy that has been condemned by the United States, Egypt and the European Union.
Threats against our rights and interests in the region, especially in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions, have also been added to our fight against terrorism. The arrow has left the bow and will surely find its target. I firmly believe that there is no obstacle in Turkey's steps, with God's help. The real question is, can those standing before us in the Mediterranean make the same sacrifices?
Turkey has never been an aggressive state in its history, it is one of the rare cases of a non-colonial state. They have seen our determination when it comes to protecting our rights. Both on the table and in the battlefield. We do not run away from the fights. For our independence. Turkey has never been a country that attacks other countries. August has taken its place in our history as a month of victories. In the West, we won many victories, from the conquest of Belgrade to Cyprus. The Great Victory today is a gift of August to our nation. Of course it is no coincidence that those who tried to exclude our country from the Eastern Mediterranean and those who tried to invade our homeland a century ago, were the same invaders.
He then went on to attack France directly, saying:
Do the French know that they will pay because of their ambitious and incompetent leaders?
Turkey, while a NATO member, is now largely seen as a pariah state that has invaded Northern Syria and refuses to obey international laws. Threatening democratic nations such as France and Greece with violent rhetoric is a step beyond what any Turkish leader in modern times has done and, while there has been debate in the West as to how to deal with Erdogan, this surely now crosses the line. A threat against the second biggest economy and power in the European Union will now likely be dealt with a great deal of force, beginning with the imposition of diplomatic sanctions.
Quite who Turkey can turn to as an ally is unclear, they are alienated both now by the West and by their neighbours in the Middle-East. Erdogan may very well now be digging himself into a hole he may not be able to get out of.
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