ICAO deal ‘no concession’
As two PASOK deputies joined MPs from all three opposition parties in demanding a parliamentary briefing on a new accord regulating Aegean civil aviation flight paths, the Foreign Ministry yesterday denied that the deal will allow Turkey’s air force greater leeway over the archipelago. «Turkey’s provocative behavior in the Aegean will be met in the future with the same decisiveness as in the past,» Deputy Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis said. «Nothing has changed.» Critics claim the accord signed at the beginning of the month within the framework of the International Civil Aviation Organization will give Turkish military aircraft more maneuvering space in sensitive areas by shifting air corridors about. But the ministry insisted the deal would serve Greek interests through an increase in passenger routes ahead of the 2004 Olympics.
