Spike in Turkish violations in Aegean during Greek exercise

Greek defense officials on Wednesday attributed a spike in Turkish violations of Greek air space over the past two days to a Greek military exercise in the Aegean.

Sources at the Greek Defense Ministry indicated that a sharp increase in Turkish activity over the Aegean, particularly close to the Dodecanese islands, was likely a reaction to Greece’s annual military and civil protection exercise, dubbed Parmenion, despite the fact that Athens and Ankara have an agreement to forgo military activity when either is conducting an armed forces exercise.

Tuesday was a particularly eventful day, with 81 Turkish violations of Greek air space and six mock dogfights, Greek defense sources said.