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Turkey-Greece Rapproachement under duress
Greece will not be represented at Monday's NATO ceremony for the command of a minesweeping unit transfer, to be held at the Turkish naval base of Aksaz, since Turkey is persisting in its refusal to allow Greek navy chief of staff Vice-Admiral George Theodoroulakis to fly there because his helicopter would refuel on the island of Rhodes, which Ankara considers a demilitarized area.
Earlier yesterday, Greek government spokesperson Dimtiris Reppas stated that Ankara had yet to officially notify Greece of its objections and added that the government will not accept interventions affecting the country's sovereignty.
He further added that such a political approach is beyond tolerance and said that Turkey's interpretation of the demilitarization issue is incorrect.
NATO's legal services have issued an opinion according to which military aircraft may fly over areas considered to be demilitarized, which is something that was claimed by Turkey itself during an earlier NATO exercise, Mr. Reppas stated.
However, according to BBC, Turkish authorities made their objections
official last night by informing the Greek Embassy's naval attache in Ankara
that Turkey does not accept the military helicopter's landing on Rhodes,
since it views the island as being demilitarized.
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