Turkish Coast Guard refutes claims of tension in Aegean

ANKARA

Turkey’s Coast Guard Command on Monday refuted claims of tension between Turkish and Greek boats over Kardak islets.

In a statement, the Coast Guard Command said the report published in the website of a Turkish daily regarding the so-called tension over Kardak islets in the Aegean Sea does not reflect the truth.

The report on the website asserted that two Greek Coast Guard boats trying to land on the islets -- 3.8 miles away from Turkey’s western Mugla province -- for a commemorative ceremony were prevented by four Turkish Coast Guard boats.

The statement stressed that a video footage, also shared by the daily on its website, shows that no adverse event occurred between Turkish and Greek coast guard boats.

"The report in question, that is complete fabrication and far from the truth, is an effort to create sensation and tension in the public opinion of the two countries, exceeding its purpose," it noted.

Turkey’s Deputy Interior Minister Mehmet Ersoy also said on Twitter: "This report is completely delusive. There was no such event. We have refuted the reporter, who covered this report, many times in the past, but unfortunately, his habit continues."

A decades-long dispute between Turkey and Greece over the uninhabited Kardak islets brought the two countries to the brink of armed conflict in 1996.

*Writing by Burak Dag