Greek coast guard ships opened fire on a cargo vessel sailing in international waters in the Aegean Sea, the Turkish Coast Guard said, escalating tensions between the regional rivals that have mounted in recent weeks.
"There were no casualties in the shooting 11 nautical miles [13 miles] southwest of the Turkish island of Bozcaada on Saturday," the Turkish statement said. It added that after harassment fire from two Greek coast guard vessels, two Turkish coast guard ships went to the area and the Greek boats left.
Earlier, Turkey's president had doubled down on a thinly veiled invasion threat and Athens responded that it is ready to defend its sovereignty. Turkey and Greece have decades-old disputes over an array of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea and disagreements over the airspace.
Turkey has accused Greece of using Russian-made S-300 missile systems in Crete to lock onto Turkish jets in August. Ankara has also said Greek F-16s harassed Turkish jets by putting them under a radar lock during a NATO mission over the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey is submitting complaints with NATO. Athens has also accused Turkey of violating its airspace.
Although both NATO members, Turkey and Greece have decades-old disputes over an array of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea and disagreements over the airspace there. The friction has brought them to the brink of war three times in the last half-century. Turkey claims Greece is violating international agreements by militarising islands in the Aegean Sea. "You occupying the islands doesn't bind us," Erdogan had said. "When the time comes, we'll do what's necessary. As we say, we may come down suddenly one night."