Turkish-Greek Naval Face-off in Aegean Sea

The Turkish military shooed away Greek Coast Guard boats allegedly harassing a Turkish-flagged merchant ship in the Aegean Sea.

The Greek coast guards harassing a Turkish-flagged merchant ship which was traveling in line with the international maritime law in south of the Samos Island of the Aegean Sea, immediately left the area following arrival of the Turkish Armed Forces, said security sources on Thursday.

"The Turkish vessel 'Akinturk-2' that was harassed by GreekCoast Guard boats near Samos Island last week made a distress call. The Turkish Armed Forces were quickly deployed to warn off the Greek patrol ships," security sources were quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

The source claimed that the Turkish vessel was sailing in compliance with the international maritime laws.

Last week, the Greek media reported that there was a deliberate attempt by a Turkish Coast Guard vessel to ram into a Greek Coast Guard patrol boat off the coast of Kos islands. “They will run away and we will chase them. That’s how it will be from now on,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying by the reports.