Spotlight: Tension between Turkey, Greece peaks after two decades

Relations between Turkey and Greece soured again after a Greek court denied the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers as suspects of failed July 15 coup attempt.

After two decades, Kardak islet in Aegean Sea, the last serious crisis that almost brought Ankara and Athens on the brink of a war due to the disputed sovereignty of the island, has again become a scene of tension between two neighbors.

On the morning of the coup attempt, which the Turkish government claims to be masterminded by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, eight soldiers flew their helicopter from Turkey to Greece's Alexandroupolis and sought political asylum.

Accusing them of being suspected coup plotters, Turkey wanted the three majors, three captains and two sergeant majors to be extradited and stand trial, but the Supreme Court of Greece on Jan. 26 rejected the demand, saying that the men were unlikely to receive a fair trial in Turkey.

The soldiers are accused of playing a significant role in the attempted coup, allegedly trying to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of the putsch.

On Jan. 25, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said the Greek court's ruling was not a judiciary but a political decision.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has sent a letter to his Greek counterpart Aleksis Tsipras and expressed Turkey's unease about the court ruling.

Yildirim also called on Athens to act "like a neighbor" as tension in the Aegean Sea has inflamed once again.

"Refusal of the extradition of coup plotters is a frustration for us. I have sent a letter to Mr. Tsipras about it. I have expressed our expectation of the extradition of these persons to us by reviewing this verdict within the boundaries of law," Daily Hurriyet quoted Yildirim as saying.

The case has revived a years-long dispute in sovereignty of some islands in Aegean Sea that was put aside in recent years in a bid to develop neighboring relations.

Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and all force commanders made a show off to Kardak island, in Greece known as Imiain, on the 21st anniversary of the crisis that brought two neighbors to the brink over a war due to the disputed sovereignty of the islet.

In retaliation, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos visited the air space over the Kardak islets on Feb. 1 and left a wreath in the Aegean Sea in memory of three Greek soldiers that died in a helicopter accident during the 1996 crisis between the two countries over sovereignty of the islets that resulted in each side landing soldiers on one islet.

"We want peace. We are not looking for a fight or trouble in the Aegean. But there won't be any aircraft that will not be intercepted," Kammenos told Antenna Television after the visit. "I won't ask for anyone's permission."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Greek defense minister was "conducting provocative acts." Turkey was acting with "good sense" in order to prevent tension between the two neighbors and therefore Ankara had not even mentioned many of violations of Greece over Kardak islets, but Athens "should not abuse this attitude of good sense."

The Kardak islets are two small uninhabited rocks in the Aegean Sea between Greek island chain of the Dodecanese and the southwestern mainland coast of Turkey.

Ankara and Athens have been holding exploratory talks since early 2000s aimed at resolving the decades-long dispute over the official border between the two countries in the Aegean Sea.

Turkey argues that Greece was also violating international acts which forbid the Aegean country's arming on disputed islands.

On Feb. 3, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Greece was breaching international law by carrying out a military exercise on the island of Kos (Istankoy) in the Aegean Sea.

In a written statement, the ministry spokesperson Huseyin Muftuoglu referred Greek media reports that the Special Forces of Greece Army had recently parachuted onto the island and recalled that Paris Peace Treaties in 1947 banned all such training on the islands.

"We call on our neighbor Greece to refrain from unilateral actions that could trigger tensions," he said noting that Turkey would "not refrain from taking the necessary steps" that are in line with its political and legal statuses regarding the Aegean Sea.

A Greek Defense Ministry source confirmed that there had been a scheduled exercise at the beginning of the week involving parachutists.

"The training schedule of the Greek armed forces is not going to stop," the source said.

On Jan. 31, two Greek Coast Guard vessels passed the Kardak islets and entered Turkish territorial waters, after which Turkish Coast Guard vessels intervened and forced the Greek vessels to leave Turkish waters, Dogan News Agency reported.

One day later, Greece reported mass incursions by Turkish military aircraft over the central and southern Aegean, which Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos termed "cowboy antics."

Kos is part of the Dodecanese chain of islands, placed under demilitarization as part of the Paris Peace Treaties in 1947 after World War II, when Italy ceded them to Greece. Endit