A report by several Turkish-language media early Sunday afternoon that Turkey’s military chief attempted to approach a pair of rock islets in the eastern Aegean was later partially confirmed by Greece’s armed forces general staff office.
Athens confirmed the presence of the vessels, without referring to the alleged high-ranking passengers.
The Greek military communique noted that a Turkish navy missile boat and two accompanying inflatable craft used by special forces approached the islets at around 11 a.m. (09.00 GMT), where they remained for seven minutes in the general sea region, violating Greek territorial waters in the process.
The Greek military merely added that “with the presence of Turkey craft in Greek territorial waters was immediately ascertained, with all foreseen actions taken for notification and withdrawal (of the craft).”
Turkish media reports also said that Gen. Hulusi Akar first attempted to reach the islets aboard a missile boat, only to subsequently board a helicopter in order to fly near the area, with photographs of the “inspection” also posted. Several of the sites carried the report as their primary news item of the day.
Official Turkey first disputed the sovereignty of the tiny Imia islets, which it dubbed “Kardak”, back in 1996, when a standoff concerning raised flags, treaties, military build-ups and a subsequent stand-down led to what Ankara then termed “grey zones” in the Aegean.
Almost 21 years to the day, Turkey’s top general reportedly attempted to reach the islets in the small warship, whose course was intercepted by a Hellenic Navy gunboat at noon on Sunday, again according to media reports, such as the Duvar website and the Dogan news agency.
Based on information conveyed by the Turkish sites and confirmed by the Greek side, Akar returned to the holiday resort port of Bodrum — near the site of ancient Halicarnassus — where he boarded a military and then flew close to the rock islets.
The Turkish military chief, whose tenure has witnessed a mass cashiering of Turkish officers charged with ties to the Gulen movement, was reportedly accompanied by other high-ranking commanders.
In a later statement, Alternate Defense Minister Dimitris Vitsas, speaking from the northeastern city of Xanthi, emphasized that Greece’s national independence “was not given to use by others, but was conquered with struggles and many sacrifices by the Greek people over time. Whatever treaties followed confirmed the results of these struggles… Challenging these treaties, which define the modern-day borders in our region, by those expressing such challenges isn’t an indication of power, but of weakness.”
