Tensions flare Between Turkey And EU, Greece on Even of Erdogan Power-Expansion Vote

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"We have a referendum on 16 April. After that we may hold a Brexit-like referendum on the [EU] negotiations," ErdoÄŸan told a Turkish-UK forum attended by the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. "No matter what our nation decides we will obey it. It should be known that our patience, tested in the face of attitudes displayed by some European countries, has limits."

The animus -- reinforced last week when the leader said he would continue labelling European politicians "Nazis" if they continued calling him a dictator -- has also animated tensions between Greece and Turkey, and ErdoÄŸan's comments came hours after the Greek defence minister said armed forces were ready to respond in the event of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity being threatened.

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Turkey's EU negotiations have long been hindered by Cyprus, and talks aimed at reuniting its estranged Greek and Turkish communities are at a critical juncture but have stalled and are unlikely to move until after the referendum.

But it is in the Aegean where tensions, matched by an increasingly ugly war of words, have been at their worst. After a tense standoff over eight military officers who escaped to Greece after the abortive coup against ErdoÄŸan last July -- an impasse exacerbated when the Greek supreme court rejected a request for their extradition -- hostility has been measured in almost daily dogfights between armed jets and naval incursions of Greek waters by Turkish research vessels.