Greek fighter jets. Photo: Eurokinissi
With nerves at a razor’s edge and talk of war fears circulating in
Greece, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet flew low over the Greek island of
Farmakonisi in the Dodecanese chain near the Turkish coast on April 3,
military officials said.
Turkish fighters regularly violate Greek airspace with no rebuke from NATO, to which both countries belong and as the defense alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said he won’t intervene and Greece will have to deal with Turkey on its own.
The Turkish Air Force F-16 descended to 3,200 feet while passing over the southeastern part of the island after entering the Athens Flight Information Region at 10.55 a.m. the military report said.
That came a day after seven Turkish aircraft, four of which were armed, violated the Athens FIR on four separate occasions, the Greek military said, adding that they were chased off by Greek fighter jets who regularly engage in mock dogfights with their rivals.
Turkey disputes Greek airspace and waters and has sent warships past Greek islands and increased the number of invasions of airspace with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepping up provocations, particularly in the Aegean.
That comes after a record 3,317 airspace and 1,998 territorial water violations recorded in the Aegean last year—respectively double and quadruple the previous year’s numbers, journalist John Psaropoulos wrote in The Weekly Standard in a piece about worries there could be an intra-NATO war between the countries.
While the European Union which Turkey wants to join has chided Erdogan, he has chided European leaders and the United States and United Nations have also kept their distance from the troubles between the countries.
Turkish fighters regularly violate Greek airspace with no rebuke from NATO, to which both countries belong and as the defense alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said he won’t intervene and Greece will have to deal with Turkey on its own.
The Turkish Air Force F-16 descended to 3,200 feet while passing over the southeastern part of the island after entering the Athens Flight Information Region at 10.55 a.m. the military report said.
That came a day after seven Turkish aircraft, four of which were armed, violated the Athens FIR on four separate occasions, the Greek military said, adding that they were chased off by Greek fighter jets who regularly engage in mock dogfights with their rivals.
Turkey disputes Greek airspace and waters and has sent warships past Greek islands and increased the number of invasions of airspace with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepping up provocations, particularly in the Aegean.
That comes after a record 3,317 airspace and 1,998 territorial water violations recorded in the Aegean last year—respectively double and quadruple the previous year’s numbers, journalist John Psaropoulos wrote in The Weekly Standard in a piece about worries there could be an intra-NATO war between the countries.
While the European Union which Turkey wants to join has chided Erdogan, he has chided European leaders and the United States and United Nations have also kept their distance from the troubles between the countries.
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