Greece denies violating Turkish airspace

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The Greek Foreign Ministry refuted Turkey's claims that Greek fighter planes violated Ankara's airspace on Saturday.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Athens on Friday of violating its airspace near the Gokceada island on May 16 and near the Enez area on May 17.

"We reject the unfounded and false claims of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleging violation of Turkish airspace by Greek fighter aircraft a few days ago. These accusations constitute yet another attempt on the part of Turkey to misinform and deny responsibility for its illegal and provocative actions," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that Ankara's allegations are "an oxymoron for a country which recently carried out 42 overflights of Greek territory within one day" and threatened Athens.    

The ministry further said that Ankara "once again undermines regional security and stability, as well as the cohesion of NATO at a critical juncture."    

On Friday, the ministry condemned "in the strongest terms" the Turkish fighter jet's violation of Greece's airspace in the vicinity of the city of Alexandroupolis within a distance of 2.5 nautical miles. The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected these allegations as "baseless" and added that Greece "is once again attempting to create a misperception against Turkey in international public by resorting to the tension that it started with its own provocative actions."  

For years, Athens and Ankara have been attempting to mend their tense relations. The countries were on the verge of an armed clash three times during the summer of 2020, prompting the Greek military to mobilize.

The cause for the rise in tensions was that Turkey had initiated seismic exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, which Athens regards to be its exclusive economic zone.