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?

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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


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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