Turks violate Greek waters a day after Tsipras and Erdogan meeting

Turkish military vessels violated Greek territorial waters on Monday only days after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a meeting in the hope of diffusing tensions between the two countries.

The two Turkish missile boats entered Greek territorial waters off the southeast Aegean island of Agathonisi and stayed there for about 20 minutes, as part of a maritime exercise code-named Denizkurdu (Seawolf).

This recent violation comes after the provocative statements last month of Turkey’s Minister of European Union Affairs Omer Celik who referred to Agathonisi as a “Turkish island”.

On Monday morning, before the Turkish missile boats approached Agathonisi, Ankara issued another navigational telex (navtex) reserving areas for military exercises in the northern Aegean, including Greek territorial waters off the island of Zourafa, east of Samothrace. In a previous navtex issued on Saturday, Ankara had reserved large chunks of the central Aegean for June, drawing Greek reaction.

‘’Today's violation of Greek territorial waters in the area of Agathonisi by Turkish navy vessels constitutes a flagrant violation of international law,’’ said the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

Before the incident, government officials had hailed the meeting between Erdogan and Tsipras a success, saying both men agreed on the need to find a way to rebuild confidence.

‘’It is clear that there are forces in Turkey that do not want understanding and good neighbourly relations between the two countries,’’ continued the statement from Ministry.