ANKARA: Greek coast guard ships opened fire on a cargo vessel sailing in international waters in the Aegean Sea, the Turkish coast guard said, escalating tensions between the regional rivals that have mounted in recent weeks.
There were no casualties in the shooting 11 nautical miles (13 miles) southwest of the Turkish island of Bozcaada on Saturday, the Turkish statement said. It added that after “harassment fire” from two Greek coast guard vessels, two Turkish coast guard ships went to the area and the Greek boats left.
Calls to the Greek Embassy in Ankara went unanswered Sunday, and it wasn’t clear why the gunfire occurred. The neighboring countries have been embroiled in disputes for decades and frictions have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with both sides alleging airspace violations. Greek officials have raised concerns about another outbreak of conflict in Europe, following Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Turkey says Greece is breaking international agreements by keeping a military presence on islands close to Turkey’s Aegean coastline. It also has accused Greek air defenses of locking on to Turkish fighter jets during NATO exercises over the eastern Mediterranean. Greece says it needs to defend its eastern islands — including tourist hotspots Rhodes and Kos, which are much closer to Turkey than to the Greek mainland — against its larger and militarily stronger neighbor. –Agencies
