No news expected on Greek soldiers for at least a month
Alternate Defense Minister Fotis Kouvelis on Tuesday visited the parents of the two soldiers being detained in Turkey after crossing the border earlier this month and pledged that Greek authorities were doing everything possible to secure their swift release.
Notwithstanding Kouvelis’s voiced optimism, however, sources say it is unlikely that the case will be resolved before Greek Easter, which falls on April 8.
Kouvelis told the soldiers’ parents that efforts to secure their return are “systematic and persistent.”
Amid a sharp escalation of rhetoric by Greek and Turkish officials in recent days, Kouvelis added that Greece “rejects any tensions provoked by the neighboring country and will not participate in intensifying those tensions.”
Greece is closely monitoring the Iniochos military exercise, involving the air forces of six countries, which started in Greek air space on Monday, in case of a possible Turkish reaction.
