Two Greek soldiers detained in Turkey are to be released. A court in western Turkish Edirne had decided end of ir pre-trial detention, reported official news agency Anadolu. However, trial of two men who had been on Turkish territory in March during a border patrol will continue. It is unclear wher y are allowed to leave for Greece.
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The two Greek soldiers were caught near border River Mariza on Turkish territory and taken into custody. The court accused two of attempted military espionage and invaded a military exclusion zone, and recently refused to release it several times for risk of flight.
Greece’s head of government Alexis Tsipras welcomed release as an act of justice. It will provide for a “strengning of friendship, good neighbourhood and stability in region”, he said.
The soldiers had rejected espionage accusations at ir hearing in March. They indicated that y followed footsteps that brought m into contact with migrants. It had snowed heavily in region, and it was also very foggy. The Greek-Turkish border is mostly marked by a fence. However, re are also not clearly marked zones – in such a forest area, two soldiers, according to Greek military data, ran.
Relations between NATO partners Turkey and Greece are tense. The Turkish government is calling for extradition of eight soldiers who, after coup attempt in July 2016, had dropped off with a helicopter to Greece. Also, exploration of south-east of Cyprus repeatedly leads to conflicts.
