The first -and most serious incident- was recorded in the area of Alexandroupolis when two Turkish aircraft flew within 2.5 miles of the city. A new barrage of violations followed, however.
Turkey, for its part, denied accusations of violating Greek airspace and blamed Greece for the new tension in Alexandroupolis.
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As stated in the press release of Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanzu Bilgits:
"F-16 aircraft of the Greek Air Force violated our airspace west of Imbros (Gokceada) on May 16, 2022 and west of the Enez region on May 17, 2022. Our Air Force gave the necessary response to these provocative violations on 18 May 2022, in accordance with the rules of reciprocity and engagement.
Greece is once again trying to create a perception against our country in international public opinion, using the tension that it started with its own provocative actions.
In this context, we completely reject the baseless allegations and accusations made against our country by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its statement dated 20 May and strongly condemn the Greek violations of our airspace.
In order to prevent such incidents from happening again, Greece must stop its provocative actions in the Aegean and seriously engage in the process of Confidence Building Measures, both bilaterally and within the NATO framework, where it has been avoiding participation for a year now."
State Department intervention on Turkish violations
On the issue of Turkish violations, the State Department spokesman - responding to a question from an American journalist on how concerned the US is about Turkish overflights over the Greek islands and how these actions affect the stability of NATO - took a position, Ned Price.
Price stressed that "to your first question, on Turkish overflights, we encourage all countries to respect the sovereign airspace of other countries and to use government aircraft with due regard to the safety of navigation of civilian aircraft. Where there are disagreements about the boundaries of a country's airspace, we call for coordination and discussion rather than provocative actions that could lead to fatal accidents. As a principled position, we encourage all states to resolve maritime delimitation issues peacefully and in accordance with international law."
Armed with two Turkish fighters - A total of 44 violations by 11 aircraft
The reaction of the Greek Foreign Ministry, following the brazen violation of Greek airspace by two Turkish fighters in Alexandroupolis, was immediate.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry spoke of an escalation of Turkish provocation, which "is part of Turkey's effort to promote its neo-Ottoman revisionism, violating all the fundamental rules of international law."
Meanwhile, Turkish fighter jets conducted a barrage of overflights across the eastern Aegean yesterday. These violations reached 44 in number and were carried out by 11 aircraft: 8 were F-16 fighters (in four formations), two CN-235 spy planes and one unmanned aircraft.
Two of the fighters were armed, while in one case there was an engagement with a Greek fighter. Nine violations were also recorded.
According to the General Staff, the Turkish aircraft were identified and intercepted in accordance with international rules, as is standard practice.
On the orders of Minister Nikos Dendias, the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Themistoklis Demiris, made a strong protest to the Turkish ambassador here. At the same time, instructions were given to inform our allies and partners, as well as the EU, NATO and the UN.
The Foreign Ministry's statement on the provocation in Alexandroupolis
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the unprecedented violation of national sovereignty by two Turkish fighter jets, which illegally entered our national airspace and approached Alexandroupolis at a distance of only 2.5 nautical miles.
This action is a clear escalation of Turkish provocativeness.
It is part of Turkey's effort to promote its neo-Ottoman revisionism, violating all the fundamental rules of international law.
This action undermines NATO's cohesion and immediate priorities, while also posing a clear threat to the European Union at a critical juncture, as the port of Alexandroupolis is a key node for the transfer of forces to reinforce our allies.
By order of Minister Nikos Dendias, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Themistocles Demiris, made an immediate and strong protest to the Turkish Ambassador here. At the same time, instructions were given to inform our allies and partners, as well as the EU, NATO and the UN."
The neighbor appears particularly irritated with the latest developments, both for the Prime Minister's historic speech to Congress, which also referred extensively to Turkish provocativeness, and for Alexandroupolis' enhanced role as an energy hub and its upgraded importance in the context of the Greek-American defense agreement.
Source:iefimerida.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
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