Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras for the Greek Governments stance, regarding the attempted coup that shook Turkey on Friday, resulting to a death toll of more than 250 people.  Tsipras had expressed his “support for the democratically elected” Turkish government, a statement he repeated in his telephone conversation with President Erdogan, stating that it is a matter of principle for the Greek people to respect the values of democracy and constitutional law.

The two men also discussed a more pressing issue – the Turkish Government’s request for the extradition of the eight military officials who fled to Greece by helicopter, in the light of the failed coup. The Greek PM reasured the Turkish President that Greece will swiftly examine the asylum requests, with respect to the international law and human rights conventions.

The eight men –  three majors, three captains and two sergeant majors – were on board a Black Hawk military helicopter, which landed in Alexandroupoli on Saturday after sending a distress signal to the airport authorities.  No sooner  had the helicopter landed, than Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias was on the phone with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, pledging “Athens’ support to Turkish peoples struggle for democracy and defence of the constitutional order”.

After being led to the local police station of Alexandroupoli, the eight men submitted a request for political asylum from Greek authorities. Their lawyer claims they did not take part in the failed coup against Erdogan, but decided to leave, when policemen started shooting against them and they were afraid for both their own and their families. She added that they are all “in a bad mental state”.

The eight men were presented before the public prosecutor in Alexandroupoli, facing charges for illegal entry in Greece. Meanwhile, Greek spokesperson Olga Gerovasili told Greek state broadcaster ERT that Greece will examine the asylum requests as dictated by international laws, taking “very seriously into account that they participated in an attempt to overthrow the democratic regime and the constitutional order in the neighboring country.”

Around 300-400 members of the Muslim minority of Greece, meanwhile, staged a demo outside Alexandroupolis airport calling for the “traitors” to be sent back, echoing the Turkish Foreign Minister, who appeared in the Turkish media, and said: “We have requested Greece to extradite the eight traitors as soon possible”. However, no official request has been made yet, and the eight men are still in detention.

Another “Black Hawk” landed in Alexandroupoli on Sunday, this time in accordance with the Greek National Defence Ministry, carrying the personnel that is set to fly the helicopter back to Turkey.