According to ERT-1, this step indicates that Turkey is annoyed by the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister to Iraq
The Turkish authorities kept a Greek government aircraft in the air on Wednesday evening for 20 minutes over the Turkish-Iraqi border north of Mosul, refusing to grant the overflight permit they had approved a little earlier. This was announced on Thursday by the Greek TV channel ERT-1.
According to him, aboard the liner was Foreign Minister Nikos Dandias, who was returning from a visit to Iraq in Athens. The Turkish authorities were notified of the VIP flight and gave permission, which was withdrawn as the aircraft approached the Turkish-Iraqi border. Diplomatic negotiations began and the aircraft was forced to lower altitude and fly in circles until the problem was solved. At the same time, the question arose about the risk of fuel shortages. After the negotiations, the Turkish authorities gave permission and the aircraft landed at the Elefsina military airfield near Athens with a significant delay.
As the channel notes, “the actions of the Turkish authorities go beyond any concept of good neighbourliness and violate the rules of diplomatic behaviour. Commentators on the channel believe that this step indicates that Turkey is irritated by the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister to Iraq. It is expected that the issue of interference with the flight of the aircraft will be raised by the Greek delegation to the European Council.
Relations between Greece and Turkey have again been strained by the dispatch by Ankara on 12 October of the Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis to the area of the Greek sea shelf in close proximity to the Greek island of Kastelorizo. The exploration area reaches 6.5 nautical miles from the coast of this island. The vessel is protected by a group of Turkish warships. After the departure of Oruc Reis from Antalya and the Turkish ships from their bases, Greece put its navy and air force back on alert, saying it would defend its sovereign rights.