Greek coast guard violates Turkish waters pursuing migrant boat

Videos of Greek Coast Guard boats violating Turkish territorial waters and approaching the mainland on two different dates have caused a diplomatic spat after being captured by Turkish citizens and shared by local news outlets.

The first video appears to show a Greek Coast Guard boat approaching Akyarlar beach of the Bodrum peninsula in the city of Mugla.

The Greek soldiers seem to be in pursuit of a dinghy, reportedly carrying a single individual.

The footage — which Euronews has not been able to independently verify — shows a boat stops less than a 100 metres before land before turning back.

A second incident, recorded in the coastal town of Datcha, shows the Greek boat reaching the mainland trying to capture the dinghy, before the person in the boat abandons the vessel.

At that point a Greek soldier gets out of the coast guard boat and gets into the empty boat.

Turkish Interior Minister calls violation ‘unacceptable’

Following the incident, the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya expressed “discomfort”, stressing that “such violations are unacceptable” on a phone call with the Greek Minister of Maritime and Insular Policy Christos Stylianides.

In a statement that followed, Stylianides focused on the “cooperation on the management of migration flows.”

The Turkish Minister of Interior said that Greek authorities agreed to investigate the incident and notify Turkish authorities about the outcome of the inquiry.

The western coast of Turkey is a common point for refugees attempting to reach the Greek islands.

Turkey has previously accused the Greek Coast Guard of pushing boats back into its waters, whilst Greece maintains it is intercepting vessels that are involved in human trafficking.

On Monday a small boat carrying migrants from Turkey sank in the eastern Aegean Sea killing four people, according to Greek authorities.

Sonia Balleron, the head of the Greece mission for the international medical charity Doctors without Borders called the incident a “tragic consequence of inhumane migration policies.”

Video editor • Sertac Aktan