Ankara issues NOTAM over sea area south of Kasos
Turkey on Monday night issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) concerning the sea area south of the Greek island of Kasos, hours after the country’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, claimed that the Imia islets are “Turkish land.”
In its notice, Ankara called on Greece to cease all military maneuvers south of Kasos – one of three areas in the eastern Aegean used by the Greek armed forces for exercises – saying that it is a demilitarized zone.
The NOTAM came just shortly after the Greek Foreign Ministry issued a stern response to Cavusoglu’s comments regarding Imia, describing them as “irresponsible and provocative.”
A dispute over the island cluster in the eastern Aegean brought the two countries to the brink of war in 1996.
“Greece’s sovereignty over its islands in the Aegean, including Imia, is indisputable and enshrined in international law,” the Foreign Ministry said in its statement on Monday.
