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Greek PM talks to Turkish counterpart as fleeing Turkish military officers appear in court

Xinhua, July 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a telephone conversation early Monday with his Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim, on issues related to the failed coup in Turkey, the Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

In the call initiated by Yildirim, Tsipras reiterated Athens' "support for democracy, constitutional legitimacy and elected government in Turkey," according to Greek government sources.

The call was made a few hours before eight Turkish military officers, who fled to Greece in a military helicopter on Saturday after the failed coup in Turkey, appeared before a Greek court in Alexandroupolis in northern Greece on charges of illegal entry.

Yildirim thanked Tsipras for Greece's support as well as for the return of the helicopter on Sunday, according to the same sources.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a similar phone conversation with Tsipras on Saturday evening.

Regarding the issue of the eight officers who are seeking asylum in Greece, the Greek side has repeatedly stressed that their case will be examined as soon as possible and with full respect to international law and conventions on human rights.

The lawyer for four of the defendants told Xinhua on Sunday that their intention was to exhaust all possibilities so that they can avoid extradition, because they fear for their safety. If their asylum claims are rejected by Greece, they are planning to file claims to other countries.

According to the lawyer, her clients as well as the other four officers strongly deny any involvement in the coup attempt.

After a short session in court on Monday, the eight Turkish nationals were also expected to appear before the asylum agency in Alexandroupolis later in the day for interviews to formally launch the assessment of their asylum claims.

Their lawyers on Monday asked the court for a 48-hour postponement of the hearing of the case. Endi