With headlines ranging from “the move that frightened Greece” to “Samos in the crosshairs of the Turkish Armed Forces,” Turkish media have been reporting in recent hours on the transfer of the 51st Commando Brigade from Hozat in Tunceli, eastern Turkey, to Söke in Aydın, just a few kilometers from the coast opposite Samos.

Ankara appears determined to continue escalating its response, with the aim of preventing Greece from reshaping its defence posture by strengthening the defence of the islands and, above all, equipping them with Israeli defence systems, using the familiar argument over the demilitarisation of the islands as its vehicle.