Greece said yesterday that Turkish warplanes had buzzed a military transport plane carrying the Greek Defence Minister, Mr Akis Tsohatzopoulos, near Cyprus, adding to tensions over the eastern Mediterranean. "While the Hercules C-130 was entering Cypriot air space it was harassed by two Turkish F-16 jets," a Greek defence ministry official said. The official said two Greek F-4 fighters, which were participating in a joint Greek-Cypriot military exercise, intercepted the Turkish jets and the transport plane landed safely on Cyprus.
Greek journalists travelling with the minister reported that the Turkish F-16s appeared dangerously close to their plane.
Greece has accused Turkey of repeated violations of its air space in the last few days in response to the joint exercise but Ankara has denied the accusations. Athens said on Sunday there had been about 60 violations over the Aegean.
"This activity continues, but to a lesser extent than yesterday," the Greek government spokesman Mr Dimitris Reppas told reporters yesterday.
Tensions between Greece and Turkey over the Aegean and Cyprus have increased over the past few months despite a pact reached at a NATO summit in Madrid in July designed to bring both sides closer together.
Turkey has said it will stop Cyprus, divided since Ankara invaded the northern portion of the island in 1974, from deploying Russian-made surface-to-air missiles. Greece has responded by saying it would come to Cyprus's aid.
The latest incident between Athens and Ankara comes as the United States begins a series of talks across the region, aimed at reducing tensions between the two NATO allies.
The US envoy for Cyprus, Mr Richard Holbrooke, was in Ankara, while his deputy, the State Department Cyprus co-ordinator, Mr Thomas Miller, is due to arrive in Athens today.