Frankfurter Rundschau: Playing with fire in the Aegean - Fears of an "undesirable accident" |

In an article titled "The Fiery Game in the Aegean Sea," the correspondent of the German newspaper, Gerd Heller, notes that comments by the "right-wing populist" Greek defense minister about "crazy Erdogan, whith whom one can not discuss," reflect the low point in which the relations between Athens and Ankara are on, accented by the incarceration in the highest security prison in Adrianople for five weeks of the two Greek soldiers who "accidentally, as they maintain, passed through fog" into Turkish territory.

He also says that while the Greek government is trying to release them, Turkey is demanding the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers with Erdogan "accusing the Greeks of protecting "terrorists .

"The Greek-Turkish controversy is currently at the level of verbal attacks. But European diplomats in Athens are warning of the risk of an "undesirable accident", as they have been recalling memories from January 1996 when Greece and Turkey reached the brink of war because of the Imia islets. The then US president, Bill Clinton, managed by nightly calls to Ankara and Athens to prevent a war at the last minute, "writes Frankfurter Rundschau.

And he notes that the controversy over Imia was resurfacing when, in mid-February, a Turkish vessel rammeed a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel "apparently with the intention of sinking it", while the Turkish Foreign Ministry had previously told that the Kardak islets - as they are called by Turkey - belong to Turkey.

"Turkey raises claims for at least 18 Aegean islands. Behind these territorial claims are also energy interests, as it is estimated that there are oil and gas deposits in the Aegean," the article highlights. He emphasizes that the spark of a conflict can be lit by the frequent jet overflights above the Aegean Sea. "Defense specialists warn that it is a matter of time until such maneuvers lead to a fall or shooting down of an aircraft."

The German newspaper notes that the thermometer of this tension is being raised by the Greeks for the arrested Greek soldiers and the "populist showdown" by the Greek Defense Minister, whom Prime Minister Tsipras supports.

And he concludes: "The latest tensions can trigger a new arms race between the two mutually hostile NATO partners. The defense committee of the Greek Parliament approved this week through an urgent procedure a program of 1.1 billion euros for the modernization of fighter aircraft and warships. But an arms race with Turkey is the last thing Greece needs at the moment: huge military spending is seen as one of the causes of the debt crisis, from which the country is just starting to recover. "