Airspace jostling between Athens and Ankara takes place almost daily. The Turkish president is now using an incident from a week ago and tightening his diction: Greece will pay a "high price," says Erdogan, speaking of a "threat."
After an incident in the airspace over the Aegean, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened Greece with consequences. Athens will pay a "high price" if it continues to violate Turkish airspace and "harass" Turkish fighter jets over the Aegean Sea, Erdogan said at a rally in the Black Sea city of Samsun.
Last weekend, Ankara accused Greece of "hostile action" against Turkish fighter jets. The Greek army used an air defense system from Russia to track the Turkish fighter jets by radar, it said. In his speech, Erdogan accused Greece of trying to threaten Turkey with the "S-300" missile system. The Turkish state news agency Anadolu initially only wrote about "harassment" and claimed that the Turkish jets were flying in international airspace. According to state television, sources in the Greek Ministry of Defense said the system had not been activated.
"Hey Greece, look at history. If you go further, you will pay a high price," Erdogan said. Greece and Turkey are allies in NATO, but their relationship has been marked by great tension for decades. Above all, competing territorial claims in the Aegean are causing disputes.
Both sides regularly accuse each other of violating borders and treaties. There are also almost daily reconnaissance flights from both countries, especially around the Greek islands near the Turkish coast. Turkey had recently sharpened the tone towards Greece. The government in Ankara questioned Greek sovereignty over several Aegean islands and put its contacts with the Greek government on hold.
