On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 aircraft was shot down while on a mission against terrorists in northern Syria by a Turkish F-16 fighter in response to an alleged violation of the Turkish airspace.
About one hundred Greeks gathered Thursday on the Athens' central Square Syntagma and headed towards the Turkish embassy, Ria Novosti reported. They were stopped by police 300 meters away from the Embassy, right next to the monument in honor of Greek pilots that died in an incident with the Turkish air force near Imia island in 1996. After that incident, the two NATO countries were on the verge of war.
"How symbolic!" one of the demonstrators exclaimed.
The protesters were holding banners condemning NATO. They also burnt US and Turkish flags and dropped leaflets demanding that Greece withdraws from the alliance.
A police cordon didn't let Panagiotis Lafazanis, the leader of a new Greek left-wing political party, Popular Unity, and one of the protest organizers hand over an address for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Embassy officials, citing orders from above.
"The whole world is disturbed by the possible consequences of a Russian plane downing by your country. Contrary to your claims, the aircraft didn't violate Turkish airspace and acted within Syrian territory in a mission against the Islamic State terrorist group." the address read. "We don't know who is responsible for the order to destroy the aircraft. We want to believe this madman wasn't you."
The protest participants cited daily violations of Greek airspace by Turkish planes.
People in the crowd expressed their support for Russia's actions in the Middle East aimed at preventing the spread of Islamic extremism and terrorism in the region, saying there is no defense for what Turkey has done. They believe that the world leaders understand it is essential to unite against the threat coming from the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
"Russia is currently on the frontline not letting this 'carcinoma' grow," a protestor said. "We agree with the Russian president that what Ankara did was a stab in the back. Not only in Russia's back, but in the back of the international anti-terrorist coalition."
The protesters added that they expect an official announcement from the Greek government regarding the provocation by Ankara.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a Wednesday statement that the downing of the Su-24 plane is a violation of the memorandum of understanding signed by Russia and the United States on flight safety during combat missions over Syria. In the document, the United States swears responsibility for the implementation of relevant rules by all participants of the US-led coalition, including Turkey, the ministry stressed.
