Turkey has summoned the Greek ambassador and protested to Washington after accusing Greece of deploying United States armoured vehicles on two Aegean islands near the Turkish coast.
The demarche was presented to Greece’s ambassador in Ankara, Christodoulos Lazaris, on Monday.
The latest escalation started when Turkish security sources shared aerial images over the weekend allegedly showing ships loaded with US armoured vehicles docking at two Greek islands, Lesvos and Samos.
The demarche claimed that the presence of these armoured vehicles in the eastern Aegean were a violation of the islands’ demilitarised status.
In response, Athens rejected Ankara’s objections on Monday as “completely unfounded and incompatible with international law,” according to Greek diplomatic sources.
The sources added that the Greek ambassador had underlined Greece’s positions in two letters to the UN Secretary General.
Ambassador Lazaris also pointed out that Turkey continues to violate Greece’s sovereignty with its continuous airspace violations and its flights over Greek territory.
Source: Ekathimerini.
