• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Greece of “occupying” Aegean Sea islands.
• Erdogan says if Greece continues to harass Turkish planes, it will pay a “heavy price.”
• “Hey, Greece, look at history,” he says.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Greece on Saturday that if it continued to “harass” Turkish planes over the Aegean, it would pay a “heavy price.”

“Hey, Greece, look at history.” “You will pay a high price if you go any further,” Erdogan said at a rally in the Black Sea region.

Turkey has recently complained about Athens’ provocative actions, claiming that they undermine peace efforts.

Long-standing sea and air boundary disputes between the two NATO neighbours have resulted in near-daily air force patrols and interception missions, primarily around Greek islands near Turkey’s coastline.

Ankara is accused by Athens of overflying Greek islands.

Turkey claims Greece is stationing troops on Aegean Sea islands in violation of peace treaties signed following World Wars I and II.

Erdogan, enraged, accused Greece of “occupying” the islands on Saturday.

“We have only one word to tell Greece: Do not forget Izmir (Smyrna in Greek),” Erdogan said, referring to the end of the Greek occupation after Turkish forces entered the city in the Aegean coast in 1922.

“Your occupation of the islands does not bind us,” Erdogan said.

“When the time comes, we will do what’s necessary. As we say, we may come suddenly one night,” he added, using his often-repeated words when he talked about launching an operation into neighboring Syria.

In June, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara would challenge Greece’s sovereignty over the islands if it continued to send troops there.

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