GREECE will block EU funds for Turkey "as long as Turkish aggressiveness persists", the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, said yesterday.
"It would be foolish for Greece to go along as if nothing were happening while Turkey threatens war," he said in Athens.
Turkey and Greece were entangled in a dispute in January over small, uninhabited islands in the Aegean, and Greek and Turkish warships were deployed in the area until the US negotiated a compromise.
Greece has already blocked a 375 million ecu (£325 million) aid package to help Turkey adjust to a customs union with the EU that came into effect in January. Mr Simitis said yesterday Greece would oppose its implementation and the accompanying aid packages, saying Turkey has broken a clause committing it to amicable relations with its neighbours.
Mr Simitis and the Foreign Minister, Mr Theodoros Pangalos, visited several EU capitals last week to press their case for greater solidarity against Turkey.
In Ankara, Turkey's caretaker Prime Minister, Ms Tansu Ciller, urged Greece to talk to Turkey about bilateral problems and not use its EU membership as a weapon. "Our ties are between Greece and ourselves. If we are going to solve these issues we are going to solve them through dialogue," she said.