ATHENS — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday threatened Greece with retaliation if Athens proceeded with any expansion of its territorial waters in the Aegean, saying that it would still be seen as a casus belli justifying military action.“Our position is clear, no 12 miles, we will not allow for territorial waters to be expanded by even a mile in the Aegean,” Çavuşoğlu said during an end-of-year press briefing in Ankara, commenting on reports that Athens plans to extend territorial waters around the island of Crete.But in a parliamentary declaration from 1995, Turkey said such an extension in the Aegean would be seen as a cause of war, because much of its coast would be deprived of access to the sea.Turkey has stepped up its rhetoric against Greece in recent months, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan even warning that a missile could hit the Greek capital unless “you stay calm.” Both countries will hold national elections by next summer.Back in October, Greek foreign ministry officials told POLITICO that the technical work needed to extend territorial waters to 12 nautical miles south and east of Crete could be ready within weeks."