A barrage of provocative moves from Turkey is undermining the climate ahead of the upcoming meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Ankara attempting to create fait accompli. Western Thrace has once again become the focal point, an issue that was settled decades ago with the Treaty of Lausanne. On Thursday morning, the spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of National Defense spoke of indefinite NAVTEX warnings, while simultaneously through social media posts, the narrative about an alleged “Turkish minority” in Western Thrace resurfaced. The post was accompanied by a photograph of Sadik Ahmet and references to the “National Resistance and Social Solidarity Day of the Turks of Western Thrace.”
Batı Trakya Türk Azınlığı’nın etnik kimliğinin tanınması mücadelesinde sembolleşen yürüyüşün yıl dönümü olan 29 Ocak Batı Trakya Türklerinin Milli Direniş ve Toplumsal Dayanışma Günü’nde, soydaşlarımızın uluslararası hukuk ve antlaşmalara dayanan haklarının takipçisi olmaya devam… pic.twitter.com/kDmSgSzimy
— T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_Disisleri) January 29, 2026
Irredentist rhetoric and NAVTEX
In the same context, Ankara argued that all research activities in the Aegean Sea must be conducted in coordination with Turkey, bringing back the narrative of island demilitarization. The Turkish Ministry of National Defense spoke of unilateral actions that, as it claims, ignore the country’s rights and interests. At the same time, provocations are being recorded within the country itself, with the Fenerbahce fan club in Komotini insisting on using the term “Western Thrace” in its name. It should be noted that the Single-Member Court of First Instance of Komotini had decided to dissolve the association due to irredentist purposes, with the final decision awaited from the second-instance court. Specifically, with its decision, the Single-Member Court of First Instance of Komotini had ruled in May 2024 that the association “Fenerbahce Fan Club in Western Thrace” should be dissolved, as there were underlying autonomist and irredentist purposes in the naming. After the first-instance court decision, the club’s officials appealed and last Friday the case was heard in the second-instance court with the decision expected in the coming weeks.
#BREAKING Türkiye’s Defense Ministry says its navigational warnings against Greece’s illegal activities in Aegean Sea are indefinite, not 2 years pic.twitter.com/16ROHmi5y4
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) January 29, 2026
