A European Commission spokesman on Tuesday was the latest official to comment on a still unresolved case involving two Greek servicemen who allegedly strayed into Turkish territory last week, as the pair continues to be held in a border city pending a trial for illegal entry into a military zone.
Speaking in Brussels during a regular press briefing, Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas referred to an “incident on the border between Greece and Turkey which resulted in the arrest of two officers of the Hellenic Army, now imprisoned and awaiting trial in Turkey.
“We, in the Commission, hope for a swift and positive outcome of this issue in a spirit of good neighborly relations, as should always be the case between two close neighbors who are also members of NATO,” Schinas said.
Speaking in Brussels, the EU’s High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, said the Union continues to advise Turkey – a long-time candidate country – to show “good neighborly relations”, while she expressed a hope for a “swift and positive outcome”.
Mogherini spoke after she was briefed by Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos.
Kammenos, the head of small right-wing populist party that props up the mostly leftist coalition government in Athens, has kept an uncharacteristically low profile over the recent days, following the incident. .
The often bombastic Greek defense minister told counterparts from EU countries that the pair was arrested a “few meters” inside Turkish territory while on a routine patrol to detect migrant traffickers.
