Greece condemns the Turkish regime’s jets for violating its airspace

Athena, (ST) – Greece condemned the harassment of a helicopter by the Turkish jets which both the Greek Minister of Defense and the Armed Forces Commander were in over a Greek island in the Aegean Sea.

Greek Defense Ministry sources said that the accident occurred when Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and Army Chief of Staff General Constantinos Floros were traveling in a helicopter that took off from the small island of Enosis, after they visited outposts near the border with Turkey.

In a statement, the Greek Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the harassment, demanding that Turkey “respect the rules in force like other countries in the region instead of violating them systematically.”

Greek news agency “Anna” said that two Turkish planes circled over the island at an altitude of 1000 meters after the helicopter took off, and then they flew over a second Greek island at an altitude of only 1700 feet.

A military source said that Greek aircraft intercepted Turkish planes that violated the country’s airspace prior to the incident.

Meanwhile, Greece’s Foreign Ministry criticized comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who reportedly said his country will respond every time Greek fighter jets fly over the Aegean, saying it is “completely unacceptable to compare the two events.

“Turkish military aircraft violate Greek national air space on an almost daily basis, including through low-altitude over flights of inhabited Greek islands. This is a practice that Greece systematically condemns and reports, both bilaterally as well as to the competent international bodies.”

Raghda Sawas