Aegean Sea

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Even by the standards of Turkey’s and Greece’s frequently strained relations, it was a remarkable escalation. Speaking to youths in a Black Sea town, Turkey’s president directly threatened his country’s western neighbour: Unless the Greeks “stay calm,” he said, Turkey’s new ballistic missiles would hit their capital city.

Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay and Defence Minister Hulusi Akar launched a barrage of threats toward NATO ally Greece this week, as tensions between the two countries remain high.

Dozens of migrants are missing and feared to be dead after a boat smuggling them into Europe capsized off the coast of Greece.

The Greek government has called on Germany to halt the sale of attack submarines to Turkey, arguing that the sale could upset the naval balance of power in the region as tensions with the Islamist-led country remain high.

Greek authorities have claime the number of migrants attempting to cross from Turkey is increasing, with some 40,000 turned away this year.

Turkey should not allow nearby Ukraine’s war with Russia to distract Ankara from its goal of regaining control over islets in the Aegean Sea disputed with Greece, Turkish journalist Hulki Tzevizoglou advised on Wednesday.

Tensions have flared up between historic enemies Turkey and Greece following accusations that Greece is training terrorists, with four Turkish F-16 aircraft violating Greek airspace two days after the Greek coastguard fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel.

Greece´s coast guard says a search and rescue operation is under way for more than a dozen passengers from a yacht.

In the first five months of 2021, the Greek government claims it has removed nearly twice as many migrants than have arrived illegally in the country.

The European Union border agency Frontex has moved to discuss recent aggression from the Turkish paramilitary coastguard at an extraordinary meeting of the agency’s directors this week.

Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis has announced that migrants and asylum seekers living on camps on the country’s Aegean islands will be vaccinated against the Wuhan virus, starting in May.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has accused the Greek coastguard of handcuffing seven asylum seekers and throwing them into the Aegean Sea.

A 26-year-old Afghan migrant faces up to ten years in prison after being charged with child endangerment following the drowning of his six-year-old son while trying to reach Europe by boat from Turkey. 

Turkey has begun to rename the Aegean sea as the “Sea of Isles”, to avoid using Greek language when referring to the region.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on the European Union to investigate allegations that migrants are being forcibly deported before they can claim asylum.

Turkish government communications director Fahrettin Altun has claimed the eastern Mediterranean Sea as part of his country’s “blue homeland”, as tensions remain high in the region.

European Union parliamentarians urged the head of Frontex, the EU’s border agency, to quit following allegations the agency was involved in so-called “pushbacks” of migrants in Greece.

The Greek Shipowners’ Association has donated ten new Rafnar maritime boats to the Greek coastguard to help the country stop illegal immigration to the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy has played down an incident over the weekend which involved Turkish fighter jets harassing a helicopter containing Greek defence minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

Contents: Turkey and Greece tensions rise with warplane dogfights over Aegean Sea; Deep millennia-old issues separate Turkey and Greece

Amid mounting tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, a Greek fighter plane reportedly crashed on Thursday after intercepting Turkish fighters near the island of Skyros. The pilot was reported dead on Thursday morning.

Greek forces fired tracer rounds at a Turkish helicopter near the Greek island of Ro in the Aegean Sea on Monday night, in the latest sign of mounting tensions between Athens and Ankara.

Turkey is already involved in a military incursion into Syria and might be on the verge of a full-scale conflict with the Syrian government, or even a confrontation with U.S. forces, but the Turkish ruling party is also surprisingly enthusiastic about invading Greece. Even some Turkish politicians are hot for a war with Greece they believe they would easily win.

Contents: European Union continues to face crises regarding migration; Bitter divisions emerge at EU summit over migration issues

Contents: Turkey’s president Erdogan visits Greece with a list of contentious demands; Greece furious at Germany over intense airport inspections

Contents: Sharply divided Turkey approves referendum giving Erdogan near-dictatorial powers; Turkey’s referendum results will be closely scrutinized by Europe

Contents: Thousands of migrants risk freezing to death as deep freeze spreads across Europe; Migrants in eastern Europe trapped in deep freeze temperatures; European Commission resettlement plan appears to be a disaster

Contents: Thousands of refugees leave Libya for Italy, hundreds drown; Turkey’s president Erdogan tells Muslims not to use birth control; Population growth rate of Muslims and Christians

Contents: EU-Turkey migrant deal unravels over brinksmanship on both sides; More refugees now reaching Europe via Italy than via Greece; Italy rescues 800 migrants from Mediterranean Sea, many of them from Syria

Contents: Greece facing humanitarian crisis with thousands of refugees on Macedonia border; Tsipras: ‘Greece will not become a warehouse for souls’; Greece recalls ambassador to Austria as refugee crisis worsens

A wooden boat carrying about 50 Middle Eastern migrants capsized off the Greek island of Farmakonisi Wednesday morning, killing at least eleven people, including five children.

Contents: Eurosceptic party in Poland wins election overwhelmingly; European Union nations in crisis agree on a migration plan for refugees; Hey kids, what time is it? In Turkey, it’s Erdogan Time!

Contents: Colombia and Venezuela withdraw ambassadors over border dispute; European officials demand forced fingerprinting of migrants

Syrians are the key actors in the human trafficking organizations that illegally smuggle migrants across the Aegean Sea, from Turkey into the European Union (EU), reports Hurriyet Daily News.