They cited both air and naval
confrontations as part of the territorial dispute between Ankara and Athens.
"It’s not really possible to restructure a security settlement in the
Aegean given the current conditions," a senior Turkish military officer told
a briefing on April 10.
Officials said EU leaders, particularly German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
told Ankara that Greece would be forced to reduce its defense budget as part
of the recovery from its financial crisis. They said Ankara should follow
suit to encourage Athens to cancel several major military programs,
including the procurement of naval submarines.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said Ankara has
outspent Athens in defense $11.6 billion to $9.7 billion. Turkey has the
second largest military in NATO.
Officials said the Turkish Air Force has flown training missions over
the Aegean without air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles. They said the
Hellenic Air Force, however, continues to fly missions with a full weapons
payload.
"We have been calling for goodwill, coordination and cooperation, and
our fighter planes in the Aegean have been flying without any payload for
years," Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug said on April 10. "But the
Greek jets are flying with a full payload."
