Athens on Friday pointed to what it called the latest Turkish military provocation in the eastern Aegean, charging that a Turkish navy patrol boat not only entered and remained Greek territorial waters but fired a weapon as part of a military exercise.
A Turkish vessel, identified as the “Kusadasi”, was detected in Greek waters, east of the inhabited islet of Farmakonissi, after day break, whereby its crew-members were observed firing a small caliber machine gun in an easterly direction.
The provocation came hours after Turkish military authorities issued a notice (NAVTEXT 221/17) of a military exercise in the area, complete with live fire. The exercise was scheduled for Friday, Feb. 17 and between 7 and 9 a.m. (05.00 and 07.00 GMT), according to the Turkish notice.
However, Greece’s oceanographic service immediately responded with another notice to mariners rendering the Turkish notice void, as the former cited the lack of jurisdiction by the Turkish authorities — and more importantly — that the proposed exercise would encroach on Greek territorial waters.
A Hellenic Navy gunboat was dispatched to the area and observed the violation, Greece’s armed forces general staff announced.
