Greek Foreign Minister's Plane Blocked By Turkey On Its Way Home - Reports
ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2020) The Turkish authorities on Wednesday refused to grant the Greek government's aircraft with the Hellenic Republic's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on board permission to cross the Turkish-Iraqi border to the South of the Iraqi city of Mosul, the Greek ERT1 tv channel reported on Thursday.
Ankara was notified in advance of the minister's flight and allowed the aircraft to enter the Turkish airspace only to deny entry to the Greek plane when it approached Turkey's border, forcing the plane to drop altitude and fly around for 20 minutes, the channel reported.
Turkey's authorities' actions are against all the principles of good neighborliness and violate the rules of diplomatic conduct and it is expected that Greece will submit this incident to the European Council's consideration, according to the media.
In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hami Aksoy, stated that Ankara had not prevented the Greek aircraft from entering its airspace.
"Greece requested permission for the plane, on which Dendias left for Iraq, to use our airspace and it was approved, with the Greek party being notified. When in Iraq a malfunction was discovered in the first plane, Greece provided the minister with another aircraft that was immediately authorized to use our airspace," Aksoy said.
Escalation in historically-strained relations between Greece and Turkey has emerged after Ankara announced the start of seismic research activities in the area, a mere 7.5 miles from the Greek island of Kastellorizo's shore that belongs to the continental shelf of Greece. The Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis resumed geological explorations in the disputed waters early in October.
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/greek-foreign-ministers-plane-blocked-by-tur-1057655.html