President insists Greece will protect borders amid military readiness exercise

President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Wednesday sought to send another firm message to Ankara amid increasingly hostile rhetoric from across the Aegean as a Greek military readiness exercise got under way in the southern Aegean. 

"Greece will strongly support its borders and those of Europe," Pavlopoulos said during a visit to the Salamina naval base, repeating that "there are no gray zones" in the Aegean. Defending "international legitimacy... is not simply our right, it is also our duty to the international community," he said. 

The president, who was accompanied by Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, once again called on Turkey to respect international laws and treaties, noting that the only issue of dispute between the two countries relates to the delineation of the continental shelf. 

Pavlopoulos said he observed the "readiness of the country's navy to defend our...