The two Greek soldiers being held in custody in Turkey, continue to face an uncertain fate four months since being arrested.

Captured in March by Turkish authorities after crossing the Greece-Turkish border, which they insist happened by mistake, it has since emerged that the pair could face a two year prison sentence.

On Tuesday a Turkish judge at a court in Edirne rejected the fifth appeal put forward for the release of the soldiers.

A Turkish prosecutor told the court that there was “strong suspicion” the Greek soldiers had entered a restricted military zone.

If the charge of espionage is pursued, the soldiers could face up to two years in prison if convicted, the prosecutor said.

Meanwhile given the soldiers have no fixed address in Turkey, the judicial officials said there were concerns they would flee the country if released.

Appearing on Greek television station ANT1 on Wednesday, Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos responded to the matter, accusing the Turkish authorities of “playing with human lives”, reports Kathimerini, and claimed that Ankara looks to be using the soldiers as a bargaining chip.

Mr Tzanakopoulos expressed solidarity with the soldiers, stating that Athens would use “all means of political leverage and all diplomatic and legal avenues” to assist in their release.

The court’s decision also came under fire by Greece’s Deputy Defense Minister Fotis Kouvelis, who said that Athens would under no means be engaging in a trade-off of any kind for the release of the soldiers.

The rejected appeal follows a brief meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan in Brussels where they were taking part in a NATO summit, during which they agreed to focus on reducing tensions in the Aegean.