Erdogan slams Greece, accuses it of ‘hostile act’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revisited Ankara’s claim that Greek S-300 surface-to-air missiles stationed on Crete locked on a Turkish aircraft west of Rhodes on Sunday, accusing Greece of a “hostile act.”

Athens has vehemently denied Turkey’s allegation, with Greek military sources assuring that the S-300s did not lock on to Turkish F-16 fighter jets. 

However, Erdogan reiterated the claims on Tuesday evening, noting that it was a “provocation to NATO and allies” as it occurred, he said, while the aircraft was performing NATO duties.

“We are curious about the US response to this harassment,” he added, saying that the alleged incident “revealed the truth to everyone, namely that our F-16 aircraft was locked on by the Russian S-300.”

“This is hostile behavior,” he said, adding that Greece “is not an equivalent or interlocutor, either politically, economically or militarily.”