MFA ON TURKISH INVOLVEMENT IN EU FRONTEX AND OLYMPIC AIR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001471 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/09/11 TAGS: PREL PARM EAIR GR TU EUN LG SUBJECT: MFA ON TURKISH INVOLVEMENT IN EU FRONTEX AND OLYMPIC AIR INCIDENTS REF: A.) ATHENS 1465, B.) ANKARA 1298, C.) ANKARA 1293, D.) 07JUL USDAO ATHENS IIR 6 837 0336 09, E.) 24JUN USDAO ATHENS IIR 6 837 0194 09 CLASSIFIED BY: Deborah A. McCarthy, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Greek MFA told us September 10 that the recent warning by Turkish air control to a Latvian air force helicopter flying an EU Frontex mission in Greek airspace over Farmakonisi to "leave Turkish airspace immediately" was only one in a series of such actions directed at Frontex. While concerned about the sovereignty pretext used by the Turkish radar, the Greeks tend to believe these actions are directed more toward the Frontex mission, and less toward Greece, per se. Our counterpart noted that the MFA also rejected the September 2 statement by the Turkish General Staff that Turkish warplanes came no closer than three nautical miles to an Olympic Airlines turboprop flying in international airspace, telling us that one Turkish aircraft crossed in front of the OA flight in an ascending flight path approximately one nautical mile away, in an altitude range from 100 feet below the OA flight, to approximately 1500 feet above it, according to an affidavit by the OA pilot. Greece will send a note verbale rejecting the TGS statement to the Turkish MFA in Ankara, has filed a report at the ICAO, and will raise the issue in EU channels. FM Bakoyannis told visiting DAS Kaidanow that she had called her Turkish counterpart the day after the incident (REF A). We believe the details of this incident are less important than the bigger picture: Aegean tensions do more than increase political friction between our two Allies, they unnecessarily raise the possibility of air disasters on the civilian side. END SUMMARY Frontex harassment: sovereignty claims or immigration concerns? -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On September 7, Greek media reported that a Latvian air force helicopter, patrolling over the eastern Aegean as part of EU Frontex operations guarding the Schengen zone borders, was harassed by Turkish air controllers while traversing the area over Farmakonisi, which lies along the flight path used by Frontex to patrol the area between the islands of Samos and Kos. The Latvian pilot reported that he was told he was "violating Turkish airspace" and instructed to leave the area immediately with the threat of fighter intercept for non-compliance. The pilot ignored these warnings, and continued his sortie to Samos, then returned to land on Kos, his point of origin. ¶3. (C) In a September 10 meeting with Counselor Lili Gramatika on the MFA's Turkey Desk, the Greeks confirmed this incident, and noted that such incidents had occurred several times in the past months between Turkish air control and aircraft of other EU member states participating in the operation, citing aircraft from Slovakia and Luxembourg as two more recent examples. (Note: reftels D and E detail an incident with Turkish F-16s and Italian and Benelux Frontex aircraft along the Evro River in Thrace in May 2009, visible in a May Greek TV station posting to YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6TqmVYiCS8, and with the Slovak aircraft between Samos and Kos on June 16, respectively.) While expressing concern at the Turkish pretext of sovereignty to justify the attempted altering of these flight paths, Gramatika noted her belief that these actions are more linked to the issue of illegal immigration, and general Turkish displeasure with Frontex. The islands between Samos and Kos have seen large increases in illegal immigration and smuggling, she stated, noting that these incidents with Turkish radar typically happen in the early morning and nighttime hours (note: the first call from the Turkish air controllers occurred at 6:48 a.m., and continued for the next five minutes). Disagreement with TGS characterization of August 31 Olympic Air incident ATHENS 00001471 002 OF 002 -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) On September 1, Greek media reported that on August 31, a Turkish fighter plane flew within 100 meters on a parallel course of Olympic Airlines flight 983 en route from Rhodes to Mytilene. Ref B reported the official response of the Turkish General Staff. We raised the TGS response with Gramatika, who noted the Ministry disagrees with that account, and who speculated the data behind the TGS statement may come from a selective shot from radar, which may indeed show planes at three nautical miles, but does not show the moment the aircraft came within its closest point to the OA flight. She stated that according to a sworn affidavit from the pilot, the aircraft's collision warning system went off, and the pilot next saw a Turkish fighter in an ascending flight path approximately one nautical mile away, in an altitude range from 100 feet below the OA flight, to approximately 1500 feet above it. She did note that the Hellenic Air Force had launched an intercept mission, and the maneuvers of the Turkish plane could have been in response to that, rather than an intentionally destabilizing action against a civilian aircraft. The Greeks intend to send a note verbale to the Turkish MFA in Ankara disputing the TGS statement, have filed a report with ICAO, and intend to raise the issue at the EU. ¶5. (C) Comment: The incident serves as another illustration of the dangers not only to political relations between our two NATO Allies, but to civilian aviation in the region, as well. Speckhard