Turkey Accuses Greece of Trying to Intercept Turkish F-16 Jets During NATO Training

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The Greek Air Force tried to intercept Turkish fighter jets during a NATO exercise over the Aegean Sea, with Turkey giving an appropriate response, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday during the NATO Nexus Ace training mission.

"The Greek Air Force once again tried to intercept Turkish F-16 fighter jets over the Aegean Sea, but received an appropriate response. They tried to intercept Turkish F-16 that had taken off from five Turkish air bases. Despite all efforts of the Greek party, the Turkish pilots continued their flight and successfully completed all tasks," the ministry said in a statement.

As many as 14 F-16 jets took part in the exercise, and all Turkey's NATO allies had been notified of the mission 24 hours prior to its start, the defense ministry added.

Turkey and Greece have been at odds for decades, with the risk of an armed conflict arising several times since 2020. The disputed issues include competing territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular in the region of the Aegean Sea, the Greek-Turkish divide in Cyprus, and the delimitation of maritime borders. Turkey has repeatedly accused Greece of deploying weapons on the Aegean islands in violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

In late August, a new round of tensions flared up when Greece allegedly used S-300 air defense systems to radar-lock Turkish air force F-16 fighters performing a reconnaissance mission west of the island of Rhodes. The Greek Defense Ministry denied Turkey's claim that Athens deployed its S-300s in Crete against Turkish F-16s.