Fresh violations by Turkish jets
More Turkish fighter jets flew over the small Dodecanese islands of Agathonisi and Farmakonisi yesterday as Ankara too accused Greece of violating its air space. Military sources said four Turkish F-16s and four F-4 Phantom jets flew over the Aegean islands at about 3.15 p.m. A few minutes later, four more warplanes entered Greek air space and flew some 700 feet above the islands. This prompted an immediate response from Defense Minister Evangelos Meimarakis. «Turkey’s behavior is not cool-headed,» he said. «Greece believes that such behavior does not befit a country that wants to join the European Union and whose prime minister is taking on peace-building missions in the Middle East.» However, shortly after Meimarakis’s statement, the Turkish armed forces posted on their website claims that Greek aircraft and vessels had repeatedly violated Turkish air space and waters between January 2 and 6.
