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Turkish army denies Greek claims of territorial violations
AFP: 11/2/2004

ANKARA, Nov 2 (AFP) - The Turkish army denied on Tuesday a string of allegations by Athens that Turkish military planes and ships are systematically violating Greek airspace and territorial waters in the Aegean Sea.

"Allegations by Greece that Turkey is engaged in intensive activities in the Aegean airspace and in the Kardak area (Imia in Greek, in the Aegean Sea) do not reflect the realities," deputy chief of staff Ilker Basbug told a news conference. "There is no extraordinary activity."

The general conceded that military flights in the region had increased since September, but explained it was due to the end of the Olympic Games in Athens, during which Turkey had agreed to cancel scheduled maneuvers and decreased flights to "a minimum" in a gesture of good will.

"After the end of the Olympics, Turkey continued flying activities which it has conducted routinely in line with its indispensible rights and interests in the Aegean," he said, adding that the same circumstances were valid for Turkish coast guard boats operating in the Aegean Sea.

Basbug underlined that the Greek military flights in the Aegean air space outnumbered those of Turkey.

Though allies in NATO, Turkey and Greece have long been at loggerheads over territorial rights in the Aegean and have regularly traded accusations of violations and harassment.

Greece claims a 10-mile airspace limit around its long coastline but Turkey only recognizes six miles, arguing that under international rules Greece's airspace should be the same as its territorial waters.

In January 2002, the two countries started closed-door talks aimed at resolving their territorial disputes.

Some Turkish observers have suggested that Greece's recent spate of accusations could be an attempt to corner Turkey in the run-up to a December 17 decision by the European Union on whether to start membership talks with Ankara.

Though it has expressed support for Turkey's EU bid, Athens warned last week that Turkey's alleged territorial transgressions could undermine its ambitions.