The European Union (EU) Parliament convened on Thursday and issued a resolution on the issue of the two Greek military officers detained in Turkey since 1 March, calling for their release.
An overwhelming number of 607 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution (with seven against and 18 abstentions), and called on Turkey to “swiftly conclude the judicial process and release the two Greek soldiers and return them to Greece [and to] … scrupulously follow legal proceedings and fully respect, for all those concerned, the human rights enshrined in international law, including the Geneva Convention”.
The MEPs stressed that “previous cases of […] accidental border crossings by either Greek or Turkish soldiers were settled in the past on the spot and at the level of local military authorities on both sides”. They called on the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service, and all EU member states to “show solidarity with Greece” and to call for the immediate release of the two Greek soldiers in any contacts or communication with Turkish leaders and authorities, in the spirit of international law and good neighbourly relations.