ArmInfo. Armenia supports Greece on the issue of the freeing of two Greek soldiers detained in Turkey. On March 29 in Yerevan, at the joint press conference with the Minister of Defense of Greece Panos Kammenos, Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan stated.
"I take this opportunity to express my support to the Greek colleague on the approaches he expressed regarding the retention of two Greek servicemen by Turkey on the issue of their early release. Especially on the eve of Easter, good will must be shown. I am deeply convinced that in all respects the principle of mutual respect and a more flexible approach towards each other should prevail. We express our support to the Greek side in this matter," Sargsyan concluded.
According to the Greek side, the Greek military patrol on March 1 in the Evros area, because of bad weather, by mistake entered the territory of Turkey and were detained by the Turkish military. Athens expected that Turks within a day will give out the detainees, but in Turkey the Greek military were accused of illegally entering the military territory, they are accused of espionage. The Greek military explained that because of bad weather they lost their orientation and found themselves in Turkish territory.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated that Athens will continue to press for Turkey to release two servicemen, and he hopes for support of the EU. According to Tsipras, the fact that Turkey illegally detains Greek servicemen undermines the trust towards Ankara and does not help the trust between the countries.