US Ambassador visits Crete air-force base as Turkish F-16 fighter jets enter Greek airspace

Meanwhile, provocatively on the same day, a pair of Turkish F-16 fighter jets flew over the islet of Zourafa, also known as Ladoxera, east of the northern Aegean island of Samothraki on Tuesday at 10.31 a.m., the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (GEETHA) said in a statement.

The Turkish aircraft, which entered the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) without submitting a flight plan, flew at an altitude of 25,000 feet, GEETHA said.

The planes were identified and intercepted in line with international rules of engagement, it said.

.@GreeceMFA @NikosDendias at #PoseidonsRage:

– 🇺🇸 & 🇬🇷 stand together against revisionism & in protecting Int’l Law

– This exercise demonstrates our resolve to safeguard democracy, stability, security & territorial integrity.@GreeceInUSA @USEmbassyAthens @USAmbassadorGR pic.twitter.com/NgPDX4bgd8

— Consulate General of Greece in New York (@GreeceinNewYork) July 19, 2022

During the Souda Bay visit, the Greek foreign minister said that Greek and American pilots trained together over the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean in a broad spectrum of scenarios and missions “with just one goal: to preserve peace, stability and democracy.”

The US and Greece, both sent humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine and both imposed heavy sanctions on Russia as did all of our allies. Well, to be honest with you, almost all with one exception,” Dendias said, in a thinly-disguised reference to Turkey.