Athens points to Turkish naval provocation

“Actions that constitute provocations targeting Greece do not allow for the normalisation of the Greek-Turkish relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras reminded on Thursday, in response to a question on the appearance of the Turkish corvette “Bodrum” in Greek territorial waters.

A demarche will be lodged with the Turkish side as soon as a report on the incident is prepared by the Hellenic Navy general staff, he said, stressing that “on our part, we are doing everything necessary in terms of operations and diplomacy to guarantee our country’s sovereign rights”.

Delavekouras pointed out that the warship is still in the Aegean, but currently in Turkish territorial waters, and concluded that Ankara should realise that such behaviours are unsuitable within the framework of good neighbourly relations — and while the neighbouring country is on a European course.