Tension rises as regional rivals Turkey, Greece voice festering grievances

Troubled relations between regional rivals Turkey and Greece have worsened, with Turkey's president doubling down on a thinly veiled invasion threat and Athens responding that it's ready to defend its sovereignty.

Turkey and Greece have decades-old disputes over an array of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea and disagreements over the airspace there.

The friction between the neighbours has brought the NATO allies to the brink of war three times in the last half-century.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could come all of a sudden one night in response to perceived Greek threats, suggesting a Turkish attack on its neighbour cannot be ruled out.

Questioned about his earlier use of the phrase over the weekend and the possibility of Turkish military action, Erdogan reiterated the expression.

What I'm talking about is not a dream, he said at a news conference in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

If what I said was that we could come one night all of a