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Greece sees Turkish 'provocation' in Aegean crash

Tempers are flaring between old foes Turkey and Greece after their patrol boats collided in a contested area of the Aegean Sea.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a press conference following their meeting at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas - RC14BE32B060

Tensions between Turkey and its NATO ally and neighbor Greece continued to escalate today over a collision in the Aegean Sea. Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos accused Turkey of “provocative behavior” and declared, “It goes beyond tolerable levels.”

Kammenos’ comments followed a telephone exchange between the countries’ prime ministers late Tuesday in a bid to tamp the crisis down. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said he told his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras that Greece must refrain from acts that strain ties. The Aegean should be “a sea of friendship,” he said.

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