NEWS
Fresh tension arises in the Aegean
Turkish message to Greek pilots over Farmakonisi raises concern in Athens, as president stands firm
Tensions in the Aegean are on the rise again after Turkey suggested that Greek helicopters were violating the neighboring country’s air space while flying over the small Dodecanese island of Farmakonisi.
The move has prompted President Karolos Papoulias to call Turkey a “fractious neighbor” and to make Agathonisi, another small Dodecanese island, one of his stops for the Epiphany celebrations on January 6.
The alarm was raised in Greece when, on New Year’s Eve, Turkish air defense control communicated with Greek helicopters via the wireless and asked them to leave the area because they were violating Turkey’s national air space.
Greece and Turkey have a longstanding territorial dispute over the Aegean. Turkey insists Greek air space extends only 10 kilometers offshore, not 16 kilometers as Greece maintains.
