Turkey says its warplanes harassed by Greek fighter jets over Aegean Sea

Greek fighter jets harassed Turkish F-16 war planes over the Aegean Sea, said the Turkish General Staff in a written statement on Friday.

Early on Friday, two Greek F-16 jets harassed six Turkish F-16 war planes, which were performing training flights over the Aegean Sea. The Greek jets steered the same route in front of Turkish jets with less than 2,000 feet, said the statement.

At the same time, one Greek F-16 jet put radar lock for 30 seconds on Turkish planes, the statement added.

Greek F-16 planes also harassed one Turkish navy plane, which was on reconnaissance and surveillance mission, two times for 18 minutes, said the statement, adding that Turkish military responded in kind due to rule of engagement.

Turkish and Greek warplanes have previously engaged in dogfights over the Aegean Sea many times, as two countries are at odds over the boundaries of their airspace over the area due to a long-standing territorial dispute.

Turkey and Greece have been in talks to resolve their disagreements on the continental shelf over the Aegean Sea, and accordingly mutual harassments by warplanes have relatively declined in recent years. Endit