If diplomacy fails with Turkey then war is an option, says Greek Minister Mardas

Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Mardas stated that Greece would move forward via diplomacy in order to try to resolve any disputes with Turkey, but if that fails then war will be an option. Mardas made this quite an extraordinary statement only hours after Greek PM Alexis Tsipras met with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutogglu in Turkey to discuss the refugee crisis, as well as other bilateral issues, including the dispute by Turkey over the status quo of the Aegean Sea and airspace. ‘We do not accept those specific Turkish positions. Diplomatically, just like we are proceeding and we can’t see any other way…Otherwise, war!’, he said during a radio interview. Asked about the stance the Greek PM took during the press conference and Davutoglu’s reference to the Casus Belli, Mardas said that Tsipras could not have done anything else. The Minister continued by pointing out that if Turkey continued to pose a threat to Greece with illegal airspace violations and a remonstration to international bodies, including NATO were in vain then the next step could be war.