Turkey’s military says two of its warplanes chased an Israeli aircraft that allegedly violated the airspace of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state, where Turkey is exploring for oil and gas.
A military statement late yesterday said the Israeli plane violated the airspace five times on Monday until the two Turkish F-16 jets forced it to leave the area over the Turkish Cypriot north of the divided island.
Ties between Turkey and Israel have been strained by discovery by Israel and Cyprus of huge offshore natural gas deposits.
Turkey opposes any energy search by Greek Cypriots, has dismissed a Cypriot-Israeli deal demarcating their maritime borders, and retaliated by signing exploration deals with the Turkish Cypriots.
There was not immediate comment from Israeli officials regarding the event.