Turkey says it will not participate in NATO exercises in Greece due to disagreements

Due to some disagreements, Turkey decided to withdraw from the latest NATO exercise sponsored by Greece. This comes as Greece proposed amendments to the technical requirements for the "Tiger Meet" and reportedly took a position targeting Turkey. The Turkish Air Force decided not to participate in the exercises after learning about the proposed alterations by Greece.

Every year, a "Tiger Meet" exercise is organised in a different country to highlight the solidarity of the participating countries' fleets. The host country creates a technical agreement on the conduct of activities prior to each exercise. Greece, which drafted this year's technical regulation, has modified the document with an approach directed at targeting Turkey, based on disparities between the two nations.

The Air Force Command reacted quickly to these deliberate additions and asked that the technical regulation be changed, as it was in violation of international law. Greece refused to accept Turkey's insistence on its demands, according to RIA Novosti.

Decision to exclude the Turkish Air Force from exercise taken on April 22

It was decided that Turkey will not take part in the exercise since Greece used the "Tiger Meet" action to advance its political goals, according to NTV. The decision to exclude the Turkish Air Force from the exercise was made on April 22. Despite Turkey's best efforts and conciliation efforts, security officials stated that Greece could not tolerate even its neighbour's participation in such an exercise, according to media reports.

Greece and Turkey are both attempting to mend a tense relationship. Three times in the summer of 2020, Athens and Ankara were on the edge of armed war. On Friday, Turkey accused Greece of inflaming tensions, claiming that Greek fighter jets had breached Turkish airspace 30 times in the previous three days, according to Kathimerini. Turkey also recorded 22 Greek fighter jet overflights on Thursday.

Last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and had a conversation on a wide range of topics. Their meeting was regarded as a positive development by many but they are still showing a hostile approach towards each other.

(Image: AP)