On September 10, two Greek Coast Guard boats opened fire on a Turkish cargo ship with an international crew while it sailed in international waters. The "Anatolian" was attacked off the northwestern Turkish island of Bozcaada.
Turkey reported no casualties in the attack but has demanded an immediate investigation. After two Turkish Coast Guard ships arrived on the scene, the Greek boats left.
The Greek Coast Guard admitted to firing shots at the ship and believed it was acting suspiciously off the Greek island of Lesbos, which is well known as a people-smuggling route used to land economic migrants leaving Turkey and seeking asylum in Europe.
A video filmed on the cell phone of a crew member during the attack carries the sound of about a dozen gunshots and shows the bullet holes that hit the ship's bridge. Turkey stated the attack was "in disregard of the rules of international law".
Turkey and Greece are embroiled in a new dispute following decades of tensions. The historic foes are neighbors and fellow members of NATO, but now face thorny issues ranging from overflights, Aegean islands, maritime boundaries, and off-shore energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea.
On September 5, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Greece was occupying demilitarized islands in the Aegean and threatened that Turkey was ready to take action in response. Erdogan warned Greece that Turkey might "come all of a sudden one night," and added to Greece it would pay a "heavy price" for continued harassment of Turkish fighter jets over the Aegean, which hinted at possible military action.
On September 12, Hulusi Akar, Turkish National Defense Minister, accused Athens of a "two-faced" diplomatic policy towards Ankara and added, "Despite all our well-intentioned efforts, unfortunately, our neighbor Greece continues to increase the tension with some provocative actions and rhetoric every time. We do our best to prevent this."
Akar accused Greece of hostile actions against the Turkish jets when the Greeks had locked on their radar, which he called unacceptable behavior. He stressed that international law dictates a nation's airspace is contingent on its territorial waters, referring to the harassment of Turkish jets, and added that Greece arming the occupied islands was against international law as well.
Akar referred to the August 23 incident in which Turkish jets, while flying on a NATO mission, were threatened by the air defense system Greece had stationed on the island of Crete, as well as arming islands near the Turkish shore which are under a demilitarization treaty
Akar held out a hand of diplomacy to Greece by saying, "We say: 'Come whenever you want, or let us come," referring to his call to sit at a negotiations table to peacefully resolve the disputes.
Some political analysts say the upcoming June 2023 presidential elections in Turkey are playing a part in this current drama. They say Erdogan is behind in the polls, and inciting patriotic tensions against their old foe may boost support for him.
Greek officials have warned of a potential for military conflict with Turkey, and claim that they are simply defending eastern islands such as Rhodes and Kos, which are tourist destinations vital to the economy of Greece.
"I consider recent statements by the Turkish president unacceptable. However, we will always try to keep communication channels open," said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on September 11, and added that a chance for the meeting would present itself at the EU summit scheduled in October in Prague.
Greece wrote letters recently to NATO, the EU, and the UN, asking them to formally condemn increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials and suggesting tensions could escalate into open conflict.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias warned the conflict with Turkey ran the risk of becoming an additional war in Europe, referring to Ukraine.
Mitsotakis, speaking from Paris, warned Turkey when he said, "Those who say that they will come in the night, we are waiting for them in the daylight, where it is shown who has the right and true power on his side."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
