Turkish provocations on Greece’s eastern maritime borders is intensifying. The Farmakonisi island incident is another link in a long chain that has its starting point in the distant past.
On Thursday, three Turkish fishing boats were found within breathing distance of the island, from which the new provocative episode of harassment of a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel in the Eastern Aegean, by a Turkish offshore vessel, began.
The Greek fishermen informed the port authorities about the movements of the Turks and the reaction was immediate. A patrol boat of the Greek Coast Guard sailed into the maritime area to approach the three Turkish vessels that had invaded Greek territorial waters under the supervision of a Turkish Coast Guard vessel. The Coast Guard vessel’s crew was forced to fire warning shots “in a safe area” forcing the Turkish vessels to leave heading east towards the Turkish coast.
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“As long as Turkey does not change its stance, such incidents will continue”, say Coast Guard officials on protothema.gr.
In recent months, the number of border incidents with Turkish offshore vessels related to violations of Greek territorial waters amounts to 50 and concern the entire wider area of the Eastern Aegean from the Evros Delta to Megisti, according to unofficial information of protothema.gr from circles of Coastguards who have a comprehensive and clear picture of everything that takes place every day at the Greece’s maritime borders.
