Greece Chases Turkey Out Of Its Airspace After Repeated Violations

Jacob Bojesson

Turkey and Greece engaged in a cat and mouse game Tuesday after several Turkish airplanes repeatedly violated the Greek airspace.

The violations were the first since early December and come just a month after Turkey shot down a Russian aircraft for the same violation. A formation of six Turkish jets, with a CN-235 transport plane on each side, entered Greece’s national airspace a total of nine times without permission, according to Greek daily newspaper Ekathimerini.

The Turkish jets, two of which were armed, had to be chased out by a Greek aircraft.

Greece was one of the first countries to call Turkey out for its hypocrisy in shooting down the Russian aircraft Nov. 24 near Turkey’s border with Syria. The University of Thessaly recorded more than 2,000 Turkish violations over Greece in 2014 alone. (RELATED: Turkey Violated Greek Airspace 2,244 Times Last Year)

Turkey’s action destroyed the previously good relationship with Russia and the situation has been tense ever since, with sanctions and a military build-up by Russia around Turkey. (RELATED: Turkey Warns Russia: ‘Our Patience Has A Limit’)

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