Greek Patrol Boat Slightly Damaged In Incident With Turkish Vessel - Coast Guard

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2021) The Greek coast guard on Sunday reported an incident in which its patrol boat was slightly damaged by a Turkish vessel in the waters near the Lesbos island, an area of a territorial dispute between Athens and Ankara.

According to the department, a patrol ship of the Turkish coast guard disturbed its vessel on early Sunday, but apart from minor harm, no injuries or other damages were reported.

Patrol vessels of both countries regularly collide in the area.

The long-standing row involving controversies over the sovereignty and related rights in the waters of the Aegean Sea led to a crisis in relations between Greece and Turkey and several times nearly resulted in armed hostilities.

Particularly, in 1996, the dispute over the territorial affiliation of the two rocky islets of Imia (Kardak) in the Dodecanese archipelago in the Aegean Sea led to a crisis in relations between Greece and Turkey. The conflict was terminated after the intervention of the international community, NATO, and the United States.