Turkish Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, the country’s highest-ranking military officer, visited the disputed Kardak islands in the Aegean Sea Jan. 29. Akar and the commanders of the Turkish army, navy and army forces visited the twin islands (known as Imia in Greek) on the anniversary of a crisis between Turkey and Greece that brought the two countries to the brink of war in 1996.

Both pro-government and opposition media outlets in Turkey interpreted the generals’ visit as a response to a Greek court’s decision to not extradite military officers who had fled the country as suspects in the July coup attempt and who are also suspected of being followers of the Pennsylvania-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen. The hard-line secularist and vehemently anti-government Sozcu described the visit as a “Threat to Greece for not handing over FETO-ists,” and the pro-government Star also used the word “threat” (gozdagi) on its front page and connected Akar’s visit to the Greek ruling. The Turkish government and many of those who dislike Gulen refer to him and his network as “FETO,” or the Fethullah Gulen Terror Organization, accusing them of masterminding the failed putsch.

As this article went to publication, Turkey’s semiofficial Anadolu Agency reported that the Greek and Turkish coast guards were patrolling the waters around Kardak.

The Greek court decision and Turkish generals’ move risk opening old wounds between Greece and Turkey. While the two countries had experienced friendly relations from the 1930s until both joined the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952, their relations turned sour over the Cyprus question and the status of disputed islands on the Aegean Sea. Several times from the early 1960s until the late 20th century, the two neighbors and nominal allies came close to a shooting war.