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Turkey says Greek fighter jets violate airspace

Xinhua, March 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkey said on Saturday that two Greek F-16 fighter jets had violated the Turkish airspace off the Aegean Sea, as a latest evidence of the airspace boundary dispute between the two countries.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Saturday that the two Greek F-16 fighter jets violated the Turkish airspace for more than seven minutes on Friday off the coasts of Didim district of Aydin province in southwestern Turkey.

Also on Friday, a Greek CH-47 military helicopter violated the Turkish airspace in the same region for more than five minutes, the statement said.

Turkish and Greek warplanes used to frequently engage in dogfights over the Aegean Sea, as the two countries are still at odds over the boundaries of their airspace in the area as a result of a long-standing territorial dispute.

However, cases of dogfight have significantly decreased for the past years as Athens has been struggling in an economic crisis while also holding talks with Ankara trying to resolve their disagreements on the continental shelf over the Aegean Sea. Only recently has seen an increase of these airspace frictions.

Athens unilaterally claims 10 nautical miles (19 km) of airspace, as opposed to the six nautical miles (11.4 km) of territorial waters as Turkey accepts. Endit