Turkish ship in Greek waters causes political waves
A Turkish navy ship approached the coast of the Aegean island of Paros late on Tuesday night after setting sail from a base in Izmir and sailing through Greek waters for no apparent reason, sources at the Greek Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Bodrum, a B-class corvette was shadowed by a Hellenic Navy vessel after being spotted on Tuesday night. It is one of several Turkish ships to have entered Greek waters unannounced in recent months.
Tuesday?s incident sparked a tense exchange in Parliament on Wednesday with opposition politicians accusing the government of failing to pursue a tough enough policy vis-a-vis neighboring Turkey with which Greece has a long history of rivalry.
?It is all very well for the government to lodge official complaints and make diplomatic gestures but the country?s foreign policy has not just failed to bear fruit, it has aggravated matters or whetted Turkey?s appetite in the Aegean,? said Constantinos Markopoulos, a spokesman for the main opposition New Democracy.
The leader of the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), Giorgos Karatzaferis, was more outspoken, claiming that Ankara was ?playing a game of nerves and Greece must react.?
