Tensions in Greek-Turkish relations were heightened last week when the Greek coastguard stopped a group of Turkish journalists and the captain of their boat as they attempted to take photographs near the Greek island of Rho.
The journalists were questioned by the Greek coastguard until contact was made with the Turkish coastguard, when they were returned to the Turkish seaside resort of Kas.
One of the journalists, Bekir Oner San, was quoted by Turkish news sources as saying the group had been briefly detained near the island, called Karaada in Turkish, and were told not to use their mobile phones before they were released.
The group had attempted to film Greek military personnel on the island, according to the Turkish news sources.
Greek authorities announced that a Greek patrol boat intercepted the journalists as they neared Rho and checked their identification without boarding the boat, the officials said.
Rho is close to the Dodecanese island of Kastelorizo, Greece’s eastern-most island located 1.3 kilometres off the Turkish coast.
A Greek Foreign Ministry official said Rho’s territory is not in dispute.
Ankara attempted to play down an incident involving the Greek coast guard and Turkish journalists, which had prompted concern in Athens that Turkey was attempting to ratchet up tension between the two countries.
“Turkey’s relations with Greece are not like they were in the past with respect to the Aegean,” said Ozugergin, noting that it has been more than a decade since a standoff between the two countries over the Imia islets.
“It seems that some kind of mechanism has been formed in that period of time so that we can act rapidly, not causing any damage to our bilateral relations,” he said, adding, “This does not mean that one party accepts the legal arguments of the other.”