In a statement, the Turkish Coast Guard said in a statement accused the Greek Guard of violating Turkish territorial waters referring to the incident on Wednesday at Imia island.
The Turkish Coast Guard provocatively claims that Turkish sea vessels chased two Greek boats out of the area, adding that during the maneuvers, a collision occurred.
The announcement of the Turkish Coast Guard specifically states:
“On 06 / 01.2021 at 10:03 a.m., a violation of the territorial waters was committed by two vessels of the Greek Coast Guard, in the area of the rocky islets of Imia. With the intervention of four coastguards of the Turkish Coast Guard, the two Greek boats were removed from our territorial waters. During the maneuvers, there was a collision between vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard and the Greek Coast Guard. The Port Administration has a duty to ensure the safety of our seas seven days a week and 24 hours a day. ”
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In a provocative post on social media, the Turkish Coast Guard comments, posting a photo showing a Greek Coast Guard vessel: “Greek vessels, which know no borders, and constantly push illegal immigrants back into Turkish territorial waters during the violation of international law, this time, were expelled from Turkish territorial waters.”
Uluslararası Hukuku İhlalde Sınır Tanımayan, Düzensiz Göçmenleri Sürekli Türk Karasularına Geri İten Yunan Unsurları, Bu Kez De İhlal Ettiği Karasularımızdan Sürülerek Çıkartıldı pic.twitter.com/u0C9jWDp3d
— T.C. Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı (@sahilguvkom) January 7, 2021
It should be noted that despite the reports in the Greek and Turkish media, but also the official announcement of the Turkish Coast Guard, there is no official statement from the Greek side and the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy about the incident in Imia.
