With a fresh provocative statement directed at Greece, Turkey has once again revived its rhetoric regarding what it calls a “Turkish minority” in Western Thrace.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and posted on X, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to January 29—a date designated by Turkey as the “Day of National Resistance and Social Solidarity of the Turks of Western Thrace.” According to the ministry, the day “symbolizes the process that marked the recognition of the national identity of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.”

The statement concludes with language seen in Athens as particularly provocative, stressing that Turkey “continues to claim the rights of its compatriots on the basis of international law and treaties and will always defend them.”

However, this statements directly contradicts the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne making reference to Muslim Greek citizens of the region, who constitute the only minority explicitly recognized in Greece, specifically as a religious minority.

At the same time, Ankara continued its confrontational tone by commenting on reports in the Greek press concerning NAVTEX maritime advisories issued by Turkey in the Aegean. The Turkish Ministry of National Defense rejected claims that these advisories are valid for two years, arguing instead that they are of indefinite duration.

Speaking during the ministry’s weekly press briefing, Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk, Press Advisor and Spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Defense, described the disputed NAVTEX notices as “technical notifications” that, according to Ankara, are issued in response to what it characterizes as “illegal Greek activities in the Aegean.”

The Turkish side maintains that the advisories are intended solely to ensure maritime safety and cover sea areas which, under Turkish claims, fall within Turkey’s continental shelf. It further insists that any research activity in maritime zones it considers its own must be carried out in coordination with Ankara.

Within the same framework, Turkey reiterated its longstanding positions on the demilitarization of islands, arguing that military exercises on islands with non-militarized status constitute violations of international treaties and, as it claims, pose risks to maritime security.