Post by Bozur on Feb 17, 2005 16:26:35 GMT -5
Turkish army is defiant
Greece ‘wasting its energy’ with violation charges, top officer says
Reuters
Turkey’s deputy chief of staff, Ilker Basbug, addressing reporters in Ankara yesterday. He rejected charges by Athens that Turkey has stepped up violations of Greek territorial waters in the Aegean.
ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey’s army yesterday rejected charges by Athens that Turkish military planes and boats have stepped up violations of Greek territorial waters in the Aegean Sea and called for efforts to decrease tension between the two neighbors.
“If Greece insists on the vicious circle of creating problems in the Aegean, we believe it will be wasting its power and energy,” the number two of the general staff, Ilker Basbug, told a news conference.
“The Turkish armed forces place great importance on decreasing tension in the Aegean, on improving Turkish-Greek friendship and on preserving the status quo in the Aegean determined through international agreements,” he said.
Despite a significant rapprochement in recent years, NATO allies Turkey and Greece remain at loggerheads over territorial waters in the Aegean and regularly accuse each other of violations and harassment.
Athens recently accused Turkey of stepped-up violations, warning that the alleged breaches were against the principles of the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join.
Basbug said most charges were based on Athens’s claim of a 10-mile air space around its long coastline, which, he said, is not in line with international rules.
Turkey only recognizes a 6-mile air space, arguing that under international law, Greece’s air space should be the same as its territorial waters.
Basbug welcomed a landmark visit to Turkey this week by the head of the Greek navy, Vice Admiral Antonios Antoniadis, the first Greek commander ever to come to the country on an official mission.
“We place importance on this visit and believe that it will make a great contribution to Turkish-Greek friendship,” he said.
In January 2002, the two neighbors launched closed-door talks to resolve their territorial disputes in the Aegean, but no hint of progress has emerged publicly so far.
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=52247
Greece ‘wasting its energy’ with violation charges, top officer says
Reuters
Turkey’s deputy chief of staff, Ilker Basbug, addressing reporters in Ankara yesterday. He rejected charges by Athens that Turkey has stepped up violations of Greek territorial waters in the Aegean.
ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey’s army yesterday rejected charges by Athens that Turkish military planes and boats have stepped up violations of Greek territorial waters in the Aegean Sea and called for efforts to decrease tension between the two neighbors.
“If Greece insists on the vicious circle of creating problems in the Aegean, we believe it will be wasting its power and energy,” the number two of the general staff, Ilker Basbug, told a news conference.
“The Turkish armed forces place great importance on decreasing tension in the Aegean, on improving Turkish-Greek friendship and on preserving the status quo in the Aegean determined through international agreements,” he said.
Despite a significant rapprochement in recent years, NATO allies Turkey and Greece remain at loggerheads over territorial waters in the Aegean and regularly accuse each other of violations and harassment.
Athens recently accused Turkey of stepped-up violations, warning that the alleged breaches were against the principles of the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join.
Basbug said most charges were based on Athens’s claim of a 10-mile air space around its long coastline, which, he said, is not in line with international rules.
Turkey only recognizes a 6-mile air space, arguing that under international law, Greece’s air space should be the same as its territorial waters.
Basbug welcomed a landmark visit to Turkey this week by the head of the Greek navy, Vice Admiral Antonios Antoniadis, the first Greek commander ever to come to the country on an official mission.
“We place importance on this visit and believe that it will make a great contribution to Turkish-Greek friendship,” he said.
In January 2002, the two neighbors launched closed-door talks to resolve their territorial disputes in the Aegean, but no hint of progress has emerged publicly so far.
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=52247