Turkey’s Akar accuses Greece of multiple violations
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has accused Greece of multiple violations of his country's airspace and territorial waters, as well as of harassment of Turkish fighter jets.
Akar said Greece violated Turkish airspace 42 times, territorial waters seven times and harassed Turkish aircraft 15 times in October.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that a US State Department report to Congress said it is unable to provide a full list of confirmed violations of Greece’s airspace by Turkish fighter jets after January 1, 2017 due to a lack of consensus on the breadth of Greek national airspace.
The report was sent to Congress in March and its existence was revealed on Wednesday by Greek correspondents in Washington. It notes Greece claims airspace that extends to 10 nautical miles and territorial waters of to 6 nautical miles. Although Athens currently claims up to 6 nautical miles of territorial waters in the Aegean, the report notes that “Greece and its neighbors have not agreed on boundary delimitation in those areas where their lawful maritime entitlements overlap.”
“Lack of such delimitation means there is no clarity on the extent of Greece’s territorial sea and corresponding airspace in these areas rendering any assessment of total violations not feasible,” it said.
