Three Turkish military cargo planes and a ship loaded with weapons were recently sighted approaching the airspace and territorial waters of western Libya.
Italian website ‘Flight Radar’, which monitors global air traffic, said that two of the Turkish planes took off from Istanbul airport and the third from Konya military base in Turkey.
The site also said that the Turkish cargo ship ‘CIRKIC’, which set sail from the ports of Istanbul and Haydar Pasha respectively, was intercepted by a Greek frigate.
The Greek ship was taking part in the EU’s Operation ‘IRINI’ on Wednesday. The Turkish ship is believed to now be approaching Libyan shores.
According to the Italian agency ‘Nova’, the Greek ship participating in the EU mission spotted a Turkish cargo ship off the coast of Libya with weapons and ammunition on board. The ship’s destination was unknown.
Turkish media outlets claimed that the Greek Navy intercepted a commercial cargo ship accompanied by Turkish frigates heading to Libya.
They added that the Turkish frigate issued an ultimatum to the Greek Navy after a helicopter took off towards it.
On Tuesday, the Greek and Italian Foreign Ministers signed in Athens an agreement to demarcate their maritime borders. This settles long standing tensions between the two over the exclusive economic zones in the Ionian Sea.
