Further escalation in south Aegean as Turkish vessel suspected of drug smuggling defies Greek authorities

The official Turkish news agency Anadolu spoke of three Turkish warships being sent to the area where a Greek Coast Guard ship fired warning shots at a Turkish cargo ship.

It is worth noting that Turkish media, such as pro-government "Canal 24", headlined their news with titles such as "Greece shoots at merchant ship" and writes that "Greece will pay for it" linking the incident to developments in the Cyprus issue.

How the episode started

As the Turkish media reported yesterday afternoon, the Coast Guard fired warning shots at a Turkish cargo ship whose captain had refused drug trafficking checks. Indeed, according to information from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, drug information was well-founded and came from American prosecution services.

According to Turkish yenisafak.com, Turkish ship captain Sami Kalkavan told CNN Turk that "the coastguard wanted to sail the ship immediately to the port of Rhodes. We did not accept it, they wanted to take control, but we did not even accept that. They informed us they would shoot if we did not stop, and they did. This is a route we have plied before. The bullets hit the cargo ship. The crew survived through a lot of danger, "added the captain to CNN Turk.

According to the Turkish NTV network, 16 bullets hit the M / V ACT freighter, but no one was injured.

According to information, the Greek coastguard informed Turkish authorities of the incident.

Kotzias: The ship was suspected of drug trafficking

The fact that the ship was suspected of traficking drugs was confirmed by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, who was questioned after the conclusion of the Cyprus Conference on the Guarantee and Security issues held in Kran Montaña, Switzerland.

Turkey escalating

As Turkish media reported on Monday evening, three Turkish ships, two cutters and a warhip sailed to the South Aegean, in the area where the incident took place and accompanied the Turkish ACT vessel to the port of Marmaris, and released a video.

However, sources from the Department of Defense say there has been no mobility in the South Aegean region.