The Greek Foreign Ministry sent out a notice to international bodies protesting Turkey’s move to reserve a large part of Greek airspace for military maneuvers until the end of the year. On Friday February 27, Turkey issued a notam requesting to reserve extensive Greek airspace from March 2 to December 31, 2014, for military exercises, include firing ammunition over the Aegean Sea, from the Greek island of Lemnos to Skyros within the Flight Information Region (FIR) of Athens. This move was considered a serious provocation by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who decided to take the matter to higher authorities. The move is essentially “splitting” the Aegean Sea in half, while it also intrudes into Greek airspace, interferes with traffic to two regional airports and affects two international traffic routes. According to international regulations, the only competent authority for issuing such notices is the Greek Civil Aviation Authority. The Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that Turkey’s provocative move is serious and dangerous. Meanwhile, after Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias described the situation to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, the government immediately issued a notice to all relevant bodies such as NATO, the European Union, the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Service), the United nations and of course Ankara requesting the Turkish notam for the cancellation of military exercises.
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