Reports regarding deployment of Patriot missile systems on Greek islands

The Turkish newspaper Sozcu has reported on the alleged deployment of Patriot air defense systems on the Greek islands of Samothraki and Karpathos. The publication characterizes these actions as provocations, citing provisions of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the Lausanne Straits Convention, which it argues mandate the demilitarization of these islands. According to the report, Greece is utilizing the broader regional instability, including tensions between the United States and Iran, as a pretext for increasing its military presence in the Aegean. The newspaper also references a meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Bulgarian counterpart regarding the situation in the Middle East as part of the context for these military deployments. Additionally, the report contrasts the operational deployment of these systems with the Turkish S-400 system, which was purchased from Russia in 2019 for $2.5 billion but remains in storage. The Greek government has not officially confirmed the permanent deployment of Patriot systems to these specific locations. The Turkish side maintains that these islands should remain demilitarized due to their geographic proximity to the Turkish coast.