Probe into Greek soldiers arrested by Turkey in 2018 archived, minister says

A military inquiry into the arrest by Turkish authorities last year of two Greek soldiers on border patrol in northeastern Greece has been “sent to the archive,” Defense Minsister Evangelos Apostolakis said on Friday in response to a question from the opposition.

Two New Democracy MPs wrote to Apostolakis at the start of month to demand information concerning an internal investigation into the incident, which resulted in a particularly tense period in Greek-Turkish relations, as the two soldiers were kept in detention in Turkey for more than five months after their arrest on March 2, 2018.

Vassilis Kikilias and Anastasis Dimoschakis demanded to know whether there was a case for any criminal or disciplinary action to be taken over the incident, also questioning the decision to promote both soldiers earlier this year.

Apostolakis, who was Greece's armed forces chief at the time of the incident, responded that any findings from the investigation into the actions of the two soldiers that led to their arrest are classified and that the case has been archived.