Greek harassment over Aegean provokes Turkey

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Greek jet fighters continuous interceptions of Turkish military aircraft over the Aegean are seen as provocative as in the last month alone Greek jets harassed Turkish F-16s 58 times

Escalating interceptions by Greek jets of Turkish fighter aircraft over the Aegean Sea, twice a day on average, reflects the increasingly provocative approach Athens has adopted toward Ankara.

In the last month alone, Greek jets harassed Turkish warplanes 58 times on training flights in international airspace over the Aegean, according to a list of routine interceptions posted on the General Staff's Web site. In the latest of a series of incidents, Greek jets intercepted Turkish F-16s four times Tuesday.

Experts told the Turkish Daily News that Greece wanted to bring the Turkish army to the forefront with such provocations aimed at dragging the European Union into the picture.

Athens is trying to gauge Turkey's reaction by provoking the Turkish military and inciting Brussels to criticize Ankara sharply, said Sema Tezel, head of the Turkish-Greek desk at the Ankara-based Eurasian Studies Center (ASAM).

But Turkey will not be drawn into an altercation by Greek agitation, she said, because the country is currently intensively concentrated on domestic affairs and the upcoming general elections.

Still, Greece has already lost its priority on Turkey's agenda. If you take a look at the political parties' foreign policy programs, you will see both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hardly mentioned ties with Athens, she added.

Diplomatic sources deemed the increasing harassment over the Aegean as nothing new, saying that the General Staff had only recently started to provide a list of these routine interceptions on its Web site.

At the core of the dispute lies the bilateral disagreement between the two neighboring countries said trustworthy sources. Turks and Greeks will be used to tolerating such incidents as long as the Aegean dispute remains unsettled.

Simulated dogfights, close-range aerial combat in which military jets fly dangerously close to each other and try to force the opposing party to change route are a frequent occurrence between Turkish and Greek aircraft.

Problems stem from the two NATO allies disputing the extent of each other's territory in the Aegean and the airspace above it and the rivalry has triggered various tense standoffs in the past decade. Last year, a Greek pilot died after his jet collided with a Turkish fighter during one such incident.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaþar Büyükanýt launched a process of dialogue with Greece during a rare visit to Athens last year and afterwards he met with his Greek counterpart on several occasions, signaling an improvement in bilateral ties.

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=78156




-REST IN PIECES-

Until we settle scores with the Turk pilot who killed one of ours last year and then drew his pistol on Greek sailors who tried to assist him, the ledger book is still open. I hope the HAF has this pilot "marked" and identified for future activity.

Welcome to forum Landos. Nice flame bait you have there.

Not flame bait, just a matter of fact. I didn't say we had a score to settle with the entire Turkish Air Force, just this one pilot. What goes around, comes around.

do you watch the vidoes on you tube !

one from Turkish side
one from greek side.
;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DykVRKOk2BY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgH_ArEpVBo...related&search=


you tube has lots of things in it
Kaan

I didnt know Usicans had a Military strategic center...

good, now as they have an internet site, they can gather and do military gay parades. Where is this world going lately, I don't know! :rolleyes:

Buhhhh.... :baeh: