The Greek Ministry of Defence immediately dispatched several Greek war ships to the area to monitor them while two pairs of F-16s were also called to the scene in order to accompany the Greek fleet.
Specifically, the Turkish ships consisted of the frigate Kemal Reis, and four gunboats the Meltem, the Imbat, the Ruzgar, and the Firtina. Press reports said they moved north of the island of Naxos, then south of Paros and even travelled south-east off of Santorini island.
A report on defencenet confirmed these reports noting that several ships sailed to the northern Cyclades while the other half to the central area around the Cyclades. Specifically the Kemal Reis sailed to the areas between Andros and Evia and followed the coastline of Attica. The ship was even visible from Rafina! It then moved south east and was said to be near the islands of Mykonos and Naxos.
The other ships sailed to the island of Naxos, then it passed by the island of Paros and finally made its way to Sifnos. Following this it moved northeast towards Attica and then changed its course and headed towards the southern Cyclades area.
Turkish F-16s covered their movements, while naval cooperation aircraft CN-235 apparently were supporting them electronically.
The Defence Ministry is on alert, while defencenet said that even Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was briefed.
It is obvious that the Turkish ships are testing the Greek reaction to this obviously unprecedented provocation. This is the first time that Turkey has attempted such a move and such an escalation.
If there are any developments, HellasFrappe will update this article again.
Stay tuned Frappers!
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