Friday, February 19, 2016

NATO Warns Turkey It Won’t Support Ankara in Conflict With Russia

Turkish army's tanks at the Turkey-Iraq border (File)
00:04 20.02.2016
As tensions escalate between Turkey and Russia, NATO has warned Ankara that it will not take part in a war provoked by the Turkish government.

Last November, Turkey shot down a Russian jet flying through Syrian airspace. While many feared that the incident would plunge both countries into war, conflict was avoided, though relations between Moscow and Ankara have remained chilly.

As Turkey pushes to deploy ground forces across its border to remove the legitimate government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish government is, again, threatening the world with war.

"The armed forces of the two states are both active in fierce fighting on the Turkish-Syrian border, in some cases just a few kilometers from each other," one NATO official told Der Spiegel.

Ankara’s aggression seems partially based on the assumption that, should conflict erupt, Turkey will be supported by its NATO allies. According to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, the collective defense clause would be invoked if any member state is attacked.

In this photo taken from the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, in Akcakale, southeastern Turkey, a Turkish soldier on an armoured personnel carrier watches as in the background a flag of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, is raised over the city of Tal Abyad, Syria, Tuesday, June 16, 2015

But European leaders have made it abundantly clear that they have no interest in participating in a war of Turkey’s making.

"NATO cannot allow itself to be pulled into a military escalation with Russia as a result of the recent tensions between Russia and Turkey," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Der Spiegel.

Of Article 5, Asselborn stressed that "the guarantee is only valid when a member state is clearly attacked."

Germany appears to agree.

"We are not going to pay the price for a war started by the Turks," said a German diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

NATO leadership made similar warnings soon after Turkey’s downing of the Russian bomber last year.


Turkey Blames Kurds for Ankara Attack to Justify Sending Troops to Syria - Turkish Lawmaker
"We have to avoid that situations, incidents, accidents spiral out of control," NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said at the time. "I think I’ve expressed very clearly that we are calling for calm and de-escalation. This is a serious situation."

On Friday, French President Francois Hollande stressed the need to prevent conflict between Moscow and Ankara.

"There is a risk of war between Turkey and Russia," he said in an interview with France Inter radio.

As Turkey calls to escalate the violence in Syria, Russia has called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address its concerns over the rising tensions.

"The situation is becoming more tense due to increased tensions on the Syrian-Turkish border and Turkey’s stated plans to send troops to northern Syria," reads a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

These 5 Facts Explain Why Turkey Is in Deep Trouble


Ian Bremmer @ianbremmer
Turkey bus bombing
Turkey bus bombing
Chris McGrath
Family members and relatives grieve for victims of a car bombing outside the forensic morgue on Feb. 18, 2016 in Ankara.
As Turkey ramps up its involvement in the war in Syria, it risks being hit by serious international blowback

It’s been a bad week for Turkey. As the country intensifies its military campaign in Syria, a bomb ripped through Ankara in apparent retaliation on Feb. 17, killing 28 people and injuring 61 others. Sadly, it’s an all too familiar sight. These five facts explain the mounting threats Turkey faces from Syria’s war next door.

Read More: The Syrian Refugees Trapped Between an Angry Turkey and a Vengeful Assad

1. Refugees in Turkey

While Europe’s refugee woes have gotten the lion’s share of attention, it’s Turkey that’s actually ground zero for the Syrian refugee crisis. Turkey houses some 2.6 million Syrian refugees, out of the more than 4.7 million Syrians who have fled their country’s civil war. The $8.5 billion Turkey has spent to house and feed these people is putting a serious strain on Ankara’s finances. So when the E.U. offered Turkey roughly $3 billion—as well as “visa-free travel” for Turkish citizens coming into the E.U.—to continue housing these refugees and stem their flow into Europe, Ankara jumped at the chance. But this is a stopgap at best. The real solution to the refugee crisis lies on the other side of Turkey’s porous 565-mile border with Syria.

(UNHCR (a), UNHCR (b), UNDP, The Telegraph, Wall Street Journal)

2. Turkey’s War in Syria

Turkey knows this. It’s one of the reasons Ankara joined the war effort against ISIS and Bashar Assad. The other reason? Turkey’s leaders fear the gains being made by Kurdish separatists who are also battling ISIS and Assad. Turkey’s history with its own Kurdish ethnic minority is strained and often violent. Over the last 30 years, more than 40,000 people have been killed in Turkish-Kurdish clashes. Ankara is worried that the progress being made by Syrian Kurds, whom the U.S. backs, will stoke the nationalist dreams of Kurds within its own borders. The worst-case scenario for Ankara is that Syrian Kurds carve out their own autonomous state from Syria’s eventual remains. To that end, it has spent a lot more effort firing on Kurds in Syria than on attacking ISIS or Assad’s forces. Early this week, Ankara intensified its shelling of Kurdish forces along the Turkish-Syrian border. Guess what happened next.

(Reuters)

Read More: Ankara Bombing the Latest in Turkey’s Deadly Cycle of Violence

3. Turkey’s War at Home

On Wednesday night, a vehicle packed with explosives was set off as a Turkish military convoy was passing by the country’s parliament in Ankara. 28 people were killed, at least 20 of whom were military personnel. On Thursday, a second military convoy in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir was hit by a bomb, killing another six soldiers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to accuse Syrian Kurds, claiming they received logistical support from Kurdish militants already operating within Turkey. Details remain sketchy for the moment. What we know for certain is that over the past seven months there have been three suicide bombings in three cities, killing roughly 150 people. While the war may be raging next door in Syria, the spillover is claiming lives of Turkish citizens with alarming frequency.

(BBC)

4. Turkey’s Domestic Politics

You would think that the rise in violence would dent Erdogan’s popularity. But Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) have shown themselves remarkably adept at spinning security concerns into political support. The AKP lost its absolute majority in Parliament for the first time in 13 years when elections were held this past June. Then came the ISIS suicide bomb in the Turkish border town of Suruc, forcing Erdogan to declare war on ISIS and join the fray in Syria. His strongman response saw his party’s numbers begin to rise; Erdogan called snap elections for November. “It’s me or chaos,” boomed Erdogan in the run-up to elections, and Turks took him at his word. The AKP regained its absolute majority, besting their June performance by nearly 9 percentage points. A spike in popularity after an isolated terrorist attack is understandable. But a sustained violent campaign is a different matter. Each bombing in Turkey brings us closer to the latter.

(Economist)


5. Turkey’s International Politics

Syria has complicated Turkey’s diplomatic relations as well. Three months ago, Turkey shot down a Russian plane that had crossed into its airspace. A tense international incident ensued, threatening to drag the rest of NATO into direct confrontation with Russia. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, though tensions between Moscow and Ankara remain disturbingly high. For the moment, Moscow has imposed sanctions against Ankara, which will cost the Turkish economy more than $10 billion.

Targeting Syrian Kurds has also not helped Turkey’s relationship with the U.S. Washington relies heavily on these Kurds to take on ISIS. And targeting one of the few groups actually making advancements in Syria won’t help Turkey end the war and start reversing the flow of Syrian refugees, which is Europe’s principal concern at the moment.

All of which is to say that Turkey is being squeezed—squeezed by refugees, by Europe, by Kurds inside and outside the country, by Russia, by the U.S. Turkey isn’t the regional power it was even five years ago. If it’s not careful, it will be sucked into Syria’s chaotic undertow, making a messy situation that much worse.

Albania extend the vote to citizens living abroad

Image result for albanian people
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania's Parliament has extended the right to vote to citizens living abroad, who could form almost half of the electorate in the future.

The 140-seat Parliament voted late Thursday by 73 votes to 24 to allow emigrants to register at the Albanian embassy in their resident countries to be able to vote in elections planned for next year.

Some 3.37 million people are entitled to vote in Albania, but the 2011 census gave the country's population as 2.8 million. Since the fall of the communist regime in 1990 more than 1.5 million Albanians have spread around the globe, mainly to nearby Greece and Italy, but also to Germany, France, Britain, the United States and Canada.

Greece threatens to veto Britain-EU deal if states close borders to refugees


Europe’s negotiations about the UK’s membership and about the refugee crisis become entangled at Brussels summit
The Guardian
Migrants board train
 Migrants and refugees board a train to Serbia from the Macedonian-Greek border on Friday. Photograph: Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images

Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Friday 19 February 2016

The discussion surrounding the UK’s future in the European Union has collided dramatically with the migration crisis after Greece threatened to veto a new deal for Britain if other member states closed their borders to refugees.

The two problems became entangled at a summit in Brussels where EU leaders are grappling not only with David Cameron’s negotiations but also with how to deal with the biggest influx of refugees since the second world war.

The movement of people has called into question the EU’s border-free Schengen zone and has thrown EU asylum rules into chaos. On Friday, Austria introduced daily limits on the number of migrants entering the country, triggering fears of further border closures.

EU sources said the Greek government, in the midst of the so-called Brexit summit, had asked for a guarantee from other leaders that no borders would be closed before an EU-Turkey summit to discuss the refugee crisis in early March. Otherwise, it reportedly said, it would withhold approval of the British deal.

“We are asking for a unanimous decision that until [an EU-Turkey summit planned for] March 6, no state will unilaterally close its borders ... if not, the Greek government will not approve the conclusion text”, a source told AFP.

The suggestion threatened to throw the whole summit into confusion, not least because non-EU member state Macedonia, which shares a border with Greece, is not at the gathering. Central European countries – such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – have been lobbying to seal Macedonia’s border with northern Greece.

In a late-night session on Thursday, European Union leaders promised to step up efforts on a €3bn (£2.33bn) action plan with Turkey aimed at reducing the flow of refugees to Europe.

Vienna placed restrictions on the number of refugees allowed to enter Austrian territory, despite an unusually sharp rebuke from the European commission, which branded the move “plainly incompatible” with international law.



It announced earlier this week it would let no more than 3,200 migrants and refugees into its territory a day, either to travel on to neighbouring countries or apply for asylum, and would introduce a daily limit of 80 asylum claims.

Once the quotas have been reached “the borders will be closed”, a police spokesman, Fritz Grundnig, said. He added that due to bad weather, no migrant or refugee had arrived at the Austrian-Slovenian frontier since Thursday afternoon.

European leaders agreed to press forward on the “full and speedy implementation” of the EU-Turkey action plan that was signed off with Ankara last year, although EU money was only finalised one week ago.

In Brussels, leaders broke off from discussions on the UK’s EU future for a lengthy and sometimes confrontational debate on the refugee crisis. Countries clashed, with criticism levelled at Greece for not doing enough to close its border and Austria for doing too much.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said Austria’s decision “drove home again to us how urgently solutions are needed”. But she added she was pleased progress had been made. “The important statement for me today is that we have not only reaffirmed the EU-Turkey action plan, but we have said it is our priority,” Merkel said.


 Merkel at the European summit in Brussels on Friday. Photograph: Isopix/Rex/Shutterstock
The EU will hold a summit with the Turkish government in early March to discuss how to make the action plan work. Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, abandoned plans to meet EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday after a car bomb killed at least 28 people in the Turkish capital on Wednesday.

Turkey, which is hosting at least 2.5 million refugees, is unlikely to be impressed with an official communique by EU leaders criticising its efforts.

Following talks on Thursday night, EU leaders called for a “substantial and sustainable reduction of the number of illegal entries from Turkey” and “further decisive efforts” from it on the action plan.

In the absence of Turkey, EU countries criticised each other for their handling of the migrant crisis. Some leaders also voiced frustration at being forced to spend hours debating the British renegotiation while Europe was struggling to grapple with the refugee crisis.

 There’s nascent hope in the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp. So why destroy it?
David Kraft
 Read more
The European council president, Donald Tusk, called on countries to “avoid a battle among plans A, B and C. It makes no sense at all because it creates divisions within the European Union.”

International agencies released figures on Friday showing that, on average, two children have drowned every day since September 2015 as their families tried to cross the eastern Mediterranean. The United Nations high commissioner for refugees, the UNHCR children’s charity and the International Organisation for Migration called for governments to take steps to ensure refugees’ safety, such as resettlement and family reunion programmes.

“We cannot turn our faces away from the tragedy of so many innocent young lives and futures lost – or fail to address the dangers so many more children are facing,” Unicef’s executive director, Anthony Lake, said. “We may not have the ability now to end the desperation that causes so many people to try to cross the sea, but countries can and must cooperate to make such dangerous journeys safer. No one puts a child in a boat if a safer option is available.”

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Battle Over the Aegean: The Undeclared Greco-Turkish Air War

A handout photo by Hellenic Airforce shows two Greek F-16 fighters flying over the Aegean sea
15:21 18.02.2016
Sputnik news

On February 15, six Turkish fighter jets and a Navy transport plane violated Greek airspace over island territories in the eastern Aegean Sea nearly two dozen times. Commenting on the latest violation, Russian military analyst Alexei Kupriyanov decided to take a look back at the recent history of the decades-long conflict between Athens and Ankara.

The reported airspace violations earlier this week took place between the islands of Chios and Samos in the eastern Aegean, and between Lemnos and Lesbos, in the Sea's northeast. According to Greece's General Staff, Turkish aircraft violated Greek airspace 22 times in a period of 24 hours. Two of the Turkish planes were reported to be armed, and Greek military officials confirmed that two "virtual dogfights" took place between Turkish and Greek aircraft after Greek patrols intercepted the violators.

The incident was far from the first time that Turkish aircraft violated Greek airspace, with Greek media earlier calculating that in 2015 alone, Turkey had violated Greek airspace 1,375 times, with the transgressing aircraft armed and prepared for combat in 135 of those incidents.
The island groups of the Aegean Sea.
Turkey Violates Greek Airspace 22 Times Within 24 Hours

Turkey, it bears keeping in mind, has refused to sign the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, which enshrines a 12 nautical mile (22 km) standard of territorial waters surrounding island territories. In 1995, Ankara threatened that an attempt by Athens to make good on the 12 nautical mile limit prescribed by the UN Treaty would constitute a cacus belli. Greece, for its part, condemned the Turkish ultimatum as a violation of the UN Charter.
Commenting on the history of the present conflict between the two countries, Lenta.ru journalist and military analyst Alexei Kupriyanov recalled that the current dispute in the Aegean is part of a struggle stretching back centuries, from the Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453, to centuries of Ottoman Turkish occupation of Greece, to multiple wars in the 19th and 20th centuries, to Turkey's invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus in 1974.

"Political disputes," the journalist recalled, "have recently been exacerbated by economic disagreements. After oil was found on the Aegean Sea's continental shelf, questions over the ownership of uninhabited islands took on extraordinary importance. Both Greece and Turkey issued permits to their companies to extract oil in disputed waters, sending research vessels to the area, and accusing one another of trying to gain control over the lion's share of the oil-bearing shelf."

"And neither NATO, nor the International Court of Arbitration, nor the UN Security Council, have been able to persuade Athens and Ankara to reach a compromise." So far, the journalist notes, "the conflict has never reached a hot phase: during the most critical moments, NATO's leadership intervened." Nevertheless, over the past twenty years, the threat of war has hung over the Aegean like the Sword of Damocles.


"Simulated air battles, or dogfights – have become the main way for the two countries to demonstrate their territorial claims," Kupriyanov recalled. "Greek Air Force F-16s and Mirages have intercepted Turkish F-16s and engaged in dangerous maneuvers, trying to get on the tail of the enemy to expel him from the disputed area. At times pilots would keep each other in each other's sights for minutes at a time. The 'contest' of nerves is made particularly acute by the fact that [often], the planes on both sides are fully armed."


​"For the most part, the dogfights have taken place over the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos and the Dodecanese archipelago. Often, tourists who spend their holidays in the Greek resorts could simultaneously 'enjoy' simulated air battles taking place over their heads."


"Mostly," the military analyst explained, "Turkish pilots have been the ones to violate Greek airspace, but at times the Greeks too have flown into Turkish airspace, usually in the course of turning around after kicking the Turks out. Neither Athens nor Ankara have recognized each other's airspace violations, even though after each incident the General Staff of the affected party traditionally releases a statement publically censuring, angrily denouncing and strongly resenting [the violation]."

"At times, such simulated air battles have led to tragedy. On June 18, 1992, a Greek Mirage engaged in a dogfight with two Turkish F-16s at an extremely low altitude over the island of Agios Efstratios crashed, resulting in the death of its pilot."

NATO Members on the Brink of War Over a Pair of Uninhabited Rocks

Turkey bans Greek PM Tsipras' plane from entering airspace


Unfriendly Skies: Turkey Prevents Greek PM Tsipras From Entering Airspace
"For a long time," Kupriyanov recalls, "the international community remained blissfully ignorant of the Greco-Turkish dispute: few were interested in the obscure maneuvers over the Aegean Sea and the recriminations of the two countries' general staffs. But everything changed in 1996, when the two NATO member countries found themselves on the brink of war."
"The crisis was caused by a navigational error by the captain of the Turkish cargo ship Figen Akat, which saw the ship run ashore on one of the two islands of Imia, drawn on Turkish maps under the name Kardak. These are just two uninhabited pieces of land jutting out of the sea, the Greek sovereignty over which no one had previously disputed. After running ashore, the captain of the cargo ship refused Greek aid, claiming that he was in Turkish territorial waters, and turning to Turkish emergency services for help."

"After four days, Turkey officially declared that Kardak was its territory, which followed the exchange of angry diplomatic notes. The Greek press saw the unfolding of a patriotic campaign, [which prompted] the mayor of the neighboring island of Kalymnos, accompanied by three other Greek citizens, including a priest, to raise a Greek flag on the island on January 26, 1996."
Turkish Air Force F-16
"But it did not fly there long. The next day, Turkish journalists from the Hurriyet daily newspaper arrived, lowering the Greek flag and raising a Turkish one. The entire ceremony was broadcast on Turkish television, causing a surge of patriotism among Turks. A day later, a group of Greek commandos secretly landed on the island, again raising the country's flag."

"The leaders of both countries, Costas Simitis and Tansu Ciller, exchanged sharp words. Both sides quickly pulled warships up to the disputed islands. On January 30, after a Turkish frigate violated Greek territorial waters and aimed its weapons at a Greek gunboat, and a Turkish Navy helicopter flew at low altitude over the disputed islands, the Greek Navy left its harbors at Piraeus and began to deploy across the Aegean Sea."


Russian PM: Turkey 'Set Up' NATO by Downing Russian Jet
"Early on the morning of January 31, the Greek Navy frigate Navarino launched a reconnaissance helicopter with three pilots on board. Flying over western Imia, the pilots reported that they had seen armed men raising the Turkish flag (they turned out to be Turkish commandos who had landed on the island at night). After that, communication with the helicopter was lost."
"The nerves of sailors on both sides were on edge," Kupriyanov notes. "Politicians in Ankara and Athens realized that they had come to the edge of the precipice, with both sides deciding not to make the incident public: if the press were to find out, the situation could spiral out of control."
A Su-34 multifunctional strike bomber of the Russian Aerospace Force takes off from the Hemeimeem Air Base in the Syrian province of Latakia.
As a result, the United States was forced to intervene. "The White House had realized that pushed just a little more, the two NATO members providing cover for the alliance's southern flank would start a war against one another. The settlement plan was worked out with the participation of President Bill Clinton…In the end, the two countries agreed to withdraw troops and to restore the status quo. However, neither side has given up its claim to the disputed islands."

"To this day, many in Greece are convinced that their helicopter was shot down by Turkish special forces, and that the official version – that the chopper crashed due to a technical fault, was conceived in retrospect to calm the public. The helicopter's pilots are considered national heroes by the Greek right."

"In January 2016, Panos Kammenos, Greece's new defense minister and the leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks party, visited the islands to honor the memory of the pilots. As he laid flowers over their gravestone, a pair of Turkish jet fighters roared overhead, demonstrating that the dispute over the islands continues."


​Cover-ups in the Secret War Over the Aegean

The journalist suggests that the real or perceived cover-up regarding casualties "has become a kind of a hallmark of the Greco-Turkish crisis in the Aegean."

"Perhaps the best example was the incident which took place on October 8, 1996, eight months after the conflict over Imia. A Turkish F-16 taking off from an air base in the province of Balikesir and carrying out a training flight crashed near the island of Chios in Greek airspace. One of the pilots, Colonel Osman Chilekli, managed to eject. He was picked up by a Greek rescue helicopter and handed over to the Turkish side. The co-pilot, Captain Nail Erdogan, was declared missing. His body was never found."


NATO Refuses to Comment on Turkey YPG Shelling, Denies Involvement in Syria
"Almost immediately, Erdogan's relatives declared that the authorities are hiding the truth, and that the plane was shot down by the Greek Air Force. The government categorically denied this claim. However, 16 years later, Colonel Chilekli, who had previously refused to speak to the media, said that his fighter was indeed shot down by a Greek missile. 'This incident was a disgrace for our armed forces – this is why we kept silent for so long', the pilot said. 'Erdogan's family was told the truth in private. But in this case, as in others, many mysteries remain', he added."
Following Chilekli's revelation, Turkish authorities finally broke the conspiracy of silence, with current defense minister Ismet Yilmaz confirming in 2012 that the Turkish F-16 had been hit by a Greek Mirage 2000 by a R.550 Magic II air-to-air missile.

"In the 20 years since the incident, Greek and Turkish journalists established a variety of theories about Captain Erdogan's death…But there are still many uncertainties in the case. The Turks claim that the F-16 was not armed, and that consequently, its destruction was cold-blooded murder. The Greeks say that the aircraft was armed, that it was accompanied by another plane, that it got into a dogfight, and that the Greek pilot pressed the trigger accidentally."

Following the October 8, 1996 incident, Greek and Turkish aircraft often flew on patrols without missiles on board for many years. "However, as subsequent events would show, this would not help matters."


Turkish Fighter Jets Violate Greek Airspace Over Aegean Sea… Again
"On May 23, 2006, two Turkish F-16s and an F-4 reconnaissance aircraft entered neutral territory over islands in the southern Aegean at an altitude of 8,200 meters, without giving prior notice to Greek air traffic controllers. Two Greek F-16s were sent to intercept the Turks over the island of Karpathos. A traditional 'dogfight' ensued, ending in tragedy: the Greek and Turkish planes collided," resulting in the ejection of the Turkish pilot, and the death of Greek pilot Costas Iliakis.
"It's not exactly clear what happened in the skies over Karpathos," the journalist recalled. "Greek nationalists claim that Iliakis rammed the Turkish plane on purpose, eliminating the aggressor at the cost of his own life. Leftist journalists assume it to have been an accident. In any case, after the incident the planes of the Greek and Turkish Air Force began to fly armed again."

"In the coming years, the undeclared war over the Aegean would see new victims. In 2007, a Turkish pilot would crash during a training flight. In 2010, two Greek pilots would die due to an error during maneuvers at extremely close range."

Over a Thousand Violations Each Year


Turkey Fails to Provide Evidence of 'Airspace Violations' by Russian Planes
"It is no surprise," Kupriyanov noted, "that after the Turks shot down a Russian bomber [over Syria], in the course of his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias expressed his condolences and solidarity with Moscow. Kotzias complained about the persistent violations of Greek air space by Turkish jets. Until recently, Greek air traffic controllers recorded an average of 1,500 cases of airspace violation by Turkish aircraft [per year]."
"Such numbers shouldn't surprise anyone. For example, in July 2015, six Turkish planes entered Greece's airspace. Before four Greek fighters could get on their tail, the Turks managed to break the air boundary at least 20 times. A similar incident occurred in December of 2015 and now, recently, in February 2016."

Unfortunately, the journalist warned, "the situation is becoming more and more reminiscent of that of 1995: Daily, Greek fighters are forced to take to the skies to intercept Turkish intruders, armed. And who knows whether and when another Greek pilot's trigger finger might slip."
ALARM THE SITUATION OF THE GREEKS OF NORTHERN EPIRUS


A brieffing analisy of the geopolitical tensions in Southern Albania


Unfortunately, the situation in Northern Epirus in particular, a region that the final settlement has been referred formally to the Council of Foreign Ministers of the four Great Powers - winning the Second World War, such are Russia, USA, France, England (like the issue resolved most of reunification of Germany on 1946 of Peace Conference of Paris), actualy is a tragic situation and has moved away to Athens.


Gjirokaster


In Gjirokaster. The Municipality claimed by the Orthodox Church a great plot, just outside near the city center and next to the road-Kakavias Gjirokaster, refusing to give permission to build the orthodox cathedral ! The Diocese of Gjirokaster has resorted to court, but the case filibuster on the grounds that the alleged Albanians want to turn this land into green land fill. And for three years or more, refuse to bring the case issuing a permit for building construction in this area, the relevant Town Planning Council!


And after having had so many pressures and struggle to bring the matter there, the Town Planning Board without allowing dialogue and without taking into account the technical data provided by the engineer of Metropolis, rejected the request! NIVITSA - KAKOMAIA Are far worse things in the coastal area of Northern Epirus, where this year's November (2008) marked by the desperate effort of the inhabitants of the village Nivitsa (slightly ahead of the Holy Forty), to preserve their land but also the Orthodox heritage Kakomaias in the beach, where it is the monastery. The demonstrations began when The natural and scenic bay of Kakomaias between Flounder and the Holy Forty vehicles and machinery company which illegally licensed tourist complex building, tried to enter the area to start work. The Greek inhabitants of the village gathered and blockaded the road leading to fights initially created by the Albanian police and then with men of private security Albanian Manufacturing Company, which together appear to be former prisoners and Wanted! The unauthorized fights resulted mikrotrafmatismous even elderly men and women and arrest 9 people out of which 4 were in custody. Among those arrested was the Dimogerontas of the village, Cleomenes Bantzaris. Tourism investment has designed the famous and unsuspecting French Club Med, which planned to build a large, modern tourist resort 700 acres, with a capacity of 700 beds, with 350 ultra villas, swimming pools, locations sport, shops, cinema, with a budget totaling 75 million Euro, in an area that also belongs to Voreioipeirotes! The tourist resort even planned to operate for six months every year! The Club Med had entrusted the manufacturing part (building) in the Albanian Riviera, which tried to start guys with illegal projects, which have all the comfort to «legitimate» every so often arbitrary and provocative Tirana, trying to grab each and every right katatyrannismenous future of the Greeks of Northern Epirus and their children! Expected escalation of Albanian atrocities across the coastline Northern Epirus, after Tirana already chosen a French-Croatian company to carry out a research program in Tourism, ypostirigmeno by the World Bank, aiming to attract 1.25 million visitors in the region until 2012 ... It will be recalled, however, that in 1984, senior employee of Club Med had admitted shooting by border guards of the Albanian coast, when they attempted to press on shore after diving in the same bay of Kakomaias ... The Foreign Ministry does not know ... Nevertheless, while it was in progress Voreioipeiroton demonstrations of their final phase from 22 November and had already been incidents and arrests, the Greek Foreign Ministry appeared not to know anything on 27 November! Admire the responses to Inform Journalists: «Mr. KALARRYTIS: In Chimara, than denouncing the Union Chimarioton, there is again underway by the Albanian Government a firm handles property belonging to Greek repatriates minority. And even the Chimariotes complain that they have left their homes and go to their farms in order to protect the company from which the government has recruited and make the purchase. Is there any comment? Will be some intervention from the Greek Government? Mr. G. KOUMOYTSAKOS: At times, the people of Greek origin Chimaras have faced some serious, some less serious problems relating to the security of their property. Without this moment I have the information to which you referred speaking more from my experience, having served in our Embassy in Tirana, I know that in all such cases the Greek Embassy immediately and do all acts, have direct contact with the Albanian authorities to deal with these phenomena newest If there is something on this, you know. »Athens 27/11/2008 The comments are redundant, but also show that Voreioipeirotes have nothing to expect from the official Athens, as indifferent to everything ... everything ...

Italy to NATO: Talk to Russia Now, or Regret it Later

Roberta Pinotti

© Flickr/ Alessio Jacona
World

Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti has called on NATO to revise its policy of containment of Russia to one of dialogue, otherwise it will regret it later.

Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti commented on the NATO-Russia relationship, calling on the Alliance to revise its policy.
NATO doctrine envisages the policy of containment and a dialogue. We have bet on deterrence. Now finally it is time for a dialogue, otherwise we are going to regret it,” she said in an interview with Italian newspaper La Republica.
The politician noted that it was Germany, who first called for the resumption of NATO-Russia negotiations, calling it a reasonable move.
She also welcomed the results of the recent meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry.
The two met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss the de-escalation of the military involvement into the Syrian conflict.
The negotiations followed a meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Munich earlier on Thursday, which resulted in the adoption of a final communique that called for humanitarian access to be provided swiftly to all besieged areas in Syria, and set a one-week deadline for measures to be implemented to end the hostilities in the country.
Roberta Pinotti acknowledged that the implementation of the adopted initiatives would be a real examination for all the sides involved. She also called for a cease of military actions, noting however the existence of loud hawkish announcements.
“If this war gets out of hand, it could become relentless," she stated.
The politician also commented on NATO's involvement in tackling the refugee crisis in Europe, calling the Aegean Sea a “South Front” which should be more carefully supervised by the Alliance.
In a separate issue, Roberta Pinotti urged the Egyptian authorities to sincerely and carefully investigate the recent death of Italian Cambridge PhD student Giulio Regeni, who earlier in February was found dead in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo, showing signs of being tortured.
Egyptian authorities first blamed the death on a road accident, but a second autopsy conducted in Italy determined that he had been subjected to brutal torture.
Pinotti called it a horrible inadmissible crime and said that Italy will decide how to react when it gets the results of the Egyptian investigation.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Albania requests from Greece, the abolition of the Law of War of Metaxa



In the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, reported the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Qirjako Qirko

Repeal of the law "of war with Albania", it will release positive energy for the relations between Greece and Albania, said Wednesday at the Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Qirjako Qirko.

In his speech, the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Qirko said that relations with Greece are based on understanding and are trying to leave the past behind. "We are seeking a broad-based understanding. The two countries share the positive assessments of the joint cooperation strategy.

Our common agenda already contains no taboo. Problems should not define our relationship, but they should be treated according to their nature and the reality that we live, without being influenced by the past.

Continue discussions on resolving the remaining issues from the past and appreciate how essential the removal of anachronistic law of war, as the basis for the liberation of a very positive energy in relations between the two countries. Energy, which stretched our relationship in a more positive alternative plan, "said Qirko.

Speaker of the Foreign Commission, Arta Dade said afterwards, demanded the continuation of the work of the committee without the presence of media.

PM: We need NATO as ally to protect people in Kosovo

(Tanjug, file)

Aleksandar Vucic has said that Serbia "remains militarily neutral, but needs NATO as an ally to protect the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija."

SOURCE: TANJUG TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016
Vucic reacted to the criticism in the media - originating from a part of "the right-wing" opposition over an agreement with NATO granting its members freedom of movement and immunity - by saying it amounted to "political hypocrisy of those who thump their chest as the protectors of Kosovo and Serbs in Kosovo but were unable to even protect mosques."


The prime minister said the agreement in question was "signed during another government and was then ratified, but has only now become a topic for political, and not for supposedly patriotic reasons."

"Now this agreement is a topic, not when it was signed, because the topic and the target should be me, and not those who signed it," Vucic said, responding to reporters' questions.

He noted that he does not think the agreement is bad, and added:

"Are we asking NATO to protect the Serbs in the north of Kosovo, but we will not let them arrive to the north of Kosovo? And where have you seen those NATO soldiers, anyway? We need NATO as an ally and to protect our people in Kosovo, so that those hypocrites would not be protecting them... Do you want us to seek protection for the Serbs in the north, and not let them come to the north of Kosovo?"

"There are people taking care of our national interests, but they do not conduct them by hitting their heads against the wall," Vucic said, explaining that "in that way nobody, the wall included, will be done any favors - it will only be made ugly."

"Let not those who passed all the worst and most disastrous decisions for this country lecture, those who would return this country to isolation tomorrow, and those who would tomorrow lead Serbia into some new conflicts...Just let them not lecture me because they have to learn something, do it, and then teach and preach," he said, adding:

"Sanda (Raskovic Ivic) was protecting Kosovo in 2008, but did not even protect mosques in Belgrade."

Vucic stressed that he will "not lead Serbia into conflicts and wars with anyone, and will always protect it from everyone."

"I will protect also its national interests. I will protect the Serbs when there is a resolution in the UN, even though a good part of my government is against it - because they do not know how they'll be having coffee with some ambassador - although I have other problems, I will step up and stand and say, 'this can't be done'."

He also said the same was true "when it comes to UNESCO" but also "when Croatians are implementing unilateral sanctions against us."

"Then also I will - though there are some members of the government who tell me, 'let's not respond in kind' - I'll say, 'We will respond in kind and stronger, until you withdraw your measure,' and I have no problem. But to show force and muscles, about us winning and killing NATO...We need NATO as an ally to protect the people in Kosovo for us," Vucic has been quoted as saying.

He then explained that Serbia bears all the costs of joint actions with NATO, and reiterated that the agreement in question was signed by someone else, and that he does not think it represents "something bad" for Serbia. He added that Serbia is "a sovereign country that always and at any moment can make any decision."

Vucic also said that his government's "smart and wise policy protects the people in Kosovo and Metohija - and that is the key thing." The prime minister then added that he "has no time to deal with partisan policy and respond."

"I think the people see and recognize everything well," he concluded.

Albania Seeks More Big Name Investors


Medium-sized Italian and Turkish companies are showing most interest in investing in Albania - with tourism and energy seen as the most attractive sectors.

Fatjona Mejdini
BIRN
Tirana


Foreign investors are showing increased interest in Albania - but major corporations are still absent, the head of the Albanian Investment Development Agency, AIDA, Genti Beqiri, told BIRN.
Middle-ranking companies from Italy are expressing the highest degree of interest.
"Italian companies are showing most interest in investing in Albania, mainly middle-sized companies or consortiums interested in manufacturing, services, and tourism," Beqiri said.
"We are working with them but still we don't have many requests from big international companies," he complained.
AIDA was formed in 2010 as an investment promotion agency to work as an intermediary between the private and public sectors and investors.
"AIDA is not just a marketing tool but an interface with the bureaucracy, which has the policy tools to influence the business environment," Beqiri explained.
The agency offers foreign and domestic investors comprehensive support for their investment projects and aftercare services after the successful completion of projects.
Tourism is one of the most attractive fields. "We are working with an Italian consortium to bring in an investment of more than 30 million euros on the Adriatic in the north," he explained.
"It will comprise resorts, hotels, and even a tourism school that will form a kind of mini-town," he declared.
Beqiri said that several Arab countries had shown interest in investing in beach resorts in the south.
"We are discussing the creation of a yachting marina in the south and, of course, an airport at Saranda will complement tourism in the south," the director of AIDA said.
Energy is another field luring investors and Beqiri says Turkish businesses have been prompt in showing interest in this area.
"We are working with two Turkish companies eager to invest in solar and wind energy who want to invest 60 million euro together in this field," he continued.
The agency director said Italian investors are also keen to invest in the maritime corridor that will connect Montenegro, Greece and Albania, the so-called Blue Highway, which is currently undergoing a feasibility study financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD.
In January 2016, the new law on strategic investment entered into force, committing Albania to improve facilities in key development sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and energy.
Albania had a total inflow of 869 million euro in 2014 from foreign direct investment, FDI. The extraction industry made up 58 per cent of the sum while transport and telecommunications came second with 13 per cent and energy third with 9 per cent.
- See more at: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albania-foreign-investments-increased-but-lacking-big-names-02-16-2016#sthash.dH5JeswJ.dpuf

Ankara explosion: 20 people killed and 61 hurt after 'terror attack' in central district


Ankara governor says the huge explosion is believed to have been a car bomb as witnesses shared images of the scene on social media

By , and agencies, video by Claire Lomas. Source: APTN

At least 20 people have been killed and 61 injured after a huge explosion, believed to be a car bomb, rocked Ankara outside military barracks, the capital's governor has said.
A Turkish official told Al-Arabiya the blast on Wednesday was caused by a vehicle exploding and witnesses on social media shared images of smoke emanating near the building. Local media said the death toll had reached 18.
The blast happened close to buildings housing the prime ministry, the general chief of staff and the defence ministry.
The explosion occured at 6.30pm (4.30pm GMT) near the Turkish parliament during rush hour and Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman said the blast hit a bus carrying military personnel.

The Turkish armed forces' General Staff confirmed to Reuters that the target was a bus carrying military personnel.
The official, speaking by phone from the military's headquarters, was unable to confirm the death toll from the blast, which government officials have described as an act of terror.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish prime minister, said authorities were looking into the blast: "We have received information and we are looking into it." Mr Davutoglu's office later said he would not go to Brussels on Wednesday night ahead of the EU summit.
A witness told Reuters they could even smell the explosion from "blocks away": "I heard a huge explosion. There was smoke and a really strong smell even though we were blocks away," the witness said.
Omer Celik, ruling Justice and Development Party spokesman, described the blast as a "terror attack".

Cowardly terror attack in Ankara. We condemn this attack.
Melih Gokcek, the mayor of Ankara, offered his condolences via Twitter. "Firstly, may all those brothers and sisters martyred rest in peace. We wish for patience for the families and offer our condolences.
"These kinds of attacks could happen to us all. The perpetrators of this attack will get their comeuppance. Don't doubt that."
Soon after the attack, Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) announced a media coverage ban of the incident.

It was not clear who was responsible for the attack but in recent months, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have targeted tourists and peaceful protests.
In October, Turkey suffered its worst terror attack by Isil-linked suicide bombers during which 103 people were killed.
Last month a suicide bomber, linked to Isil, killed 10 tourists in the popular Sultanahmet district.

Kurdish militants and radical leftists have also attacked parts of Turkey in recent years including an attack on Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, during which one worker was killed.
A ceasefire between the Turkish state and Kurdish guerrilla fighters, part of Kurdistan Workers' Party, collapsed last year and since July, hundreds have been killed in the conflict in the country's south-east.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Migrant crisis: EU reassures Greece over Schengen zone


  • 2 hours ago
  • From the section Europe
Kos protest, 14 Feb 16
The EU summit chairman, Donald Tusk, says expelling Greece from the passport-free Schengen zone would not solve the EU's migrant crisis.
The European Council president was speaking in Athens, as Greece announced that four out of five new registration centres for migrants were now ready.
Greece is under huge pressure from its EU partners to stop the daily flow of thousands of migrants north through the Balkans. Many are Syrian refugees.
EU border staff are helping Greece now.
Last week the EU set Greece a deadline of three months to fix its border controls, amid fears of another migration surge from Turkey when the weather improves.
Schengen: EU free movement deal explained
Macedonia tries to stop migrant flow
The crisis will be high on the EU's agenda at a Brussels summit on Thursday.
The risk of jihadists sneaking in has added to European concern about Schengen. Two of the jihadists who attacked Paris in November had travelled via Greece, among refugees.
The influx has angered politicians in Austria and some other Schengen countries - to the point where some want to expel Greece from the 26-nation zone.
Arrivals by sea 
But Mr Tusk said that "excluding Greece from Schengen solves none of our problems".
"It does not end the war in Syria. It does not end Europe's attraction of migrants. And it is not a common European solution. What we must do is to improve the protection of our external borders, not least here in Greece."

Last year more than 850,000 migrants - mostly refugees fleeing war and abuses in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan - entered Greece as a gateway to the EU.
Nato warships are now joining the effort to stop migrant boats crossing from Turkey to nearby Greek islands. Hundreds have drowned because the migrant boats are often unseaworthy.
Macedonia has put up extra barbed wire fencing and imposed strict controls at its border with Greece.
Greece was supposed to complete five registration centres for migrants by the end of last year, but there were delays. So the job of fingerprinting and screening new arrivals, to determine who could qualify for asylum, has been slow and inefficient.
Four of the new centres - called "hotspots" - are now ready to be opened on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Leros and Samos, Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said on Tuesday.
A fifth, on Kos, will be ready "in five days", he said - despite local opposition there.
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

PM: We need NATO as ally to protect people in Kosovo


Aleksandar Vucic has said that Serbia "remains militarily neutral, but needs NATO as an ally to protect the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija."
Source: Tanjug
(Tanjug, file)
(Tanjug, file)
</div> <div id='passback-wb5fdbfecdf'></div>
Vucic reacted to the criticism in the media - originating from a part of "the right-wing" opposition over an agreement with NATO granting its members freedom of movement and immunity - by saying it amounted to "political hypocrisy of those who thump their chest as the protectors of Kosovo and Serbs in Kosovo but were unable to even protect mosques."
The prime minister said the agreement in question was "signed during another government and was then ratified, but has only now become a topic for political, and not for supposedly patriotic reasons."

"Now this agreement is a topic, not when it was signed, because the topic and the target should be me, and not those who signed it," Vucic said, responding to reporters' questions.

He noted that he does not think the agreement is bad, and added:

"Are we asking NATO to protect the Serbs in the north of Kosovo, but we will not let them arrive to the north of Kosovo? And where have you seen those NATO soldiers, anyway? We need NATO as an ally and to protect our people in Kosovo, so that those hypocrites would not be protecting them... Do you want us to seek protection for the Serbs in the north, and not let them come to the north of Kosovo?"

"There are people taking care of our national interests, but they do not conduct them by hitting their heads against the wall," Vucic said, explaining that "in that way nobody, the wall included, will be done any favors - it will only be made ugly."

"Let not those who passed all the worst and most disastrous decisions for this country lecture, those who would return this country to isolation tomorrow, and those who would tomorrow lead Serbia into some new conflicts...Just let them not lecture me because they have to learn something, do it, and then teach and preach," he said, adding:

"Sanda (Raskovic Ivic) was protecting Kosovo in 2008, but did not even protect mosques in Belgrade."

Vucic stressed that he will "not lead Serbia into conflicts and wars with anyone, and will always protect it from everyone."

"I will protect also its national interests. I will protect the Serbs when there is a resolution in the UN, even though a good part of my government is against it - because they do not know how they'll be having coffee with some ambassador - although I have other problems, I will step up and stand and say, 'this can't be done'."

He also said the same was true "when it comes to UNESCO" but also "when Croatians are implementing unilateral sanctions against us."

"Then also I will - though there are some members of the government who tell me, 'let's not respond in kind' - I'll say, 'We will respond in kind and stronger, until you withdraw your measure,' and I have no problem. But to show force and muscles, about us winning and killing NATO...We need NATO as an ally to protect the people in Kosovo for us," Vucic has been quoted as saying.

He then explained that Serbia bears all the costs of joint actions with NATO, and reiterated that the agreement in question was signed by someone else, and that he does not think it represents "something bad" for Serbia. He added that Serbia is "a sovereign country that always and at any moment can make any decision."

Vucic also said that his government's "smart and wise policy protects the people in Kosovo and Metohija - and that is the key thing." The prime minister then added that he "has no time to deal with partisan policy and respond."

"I think the people see and recognize everything well," he concluded.

Two mln liters of smuggled fuel enter Albania in two months of 2015

TIRANA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- About two million liters of smuggled fuel entered Albania via fishing fleets in two months last year, the Albanian Daily News reported Tuesday.

According to the report, the British company Crown Agents, which has been assisting the Albanian customs directory for the past two years, performed an audit of the activities of some Albanian fishing fleets and found that the vessels were used for importing large quantities of "duty free" fuel from the ports of Greece, Italy and Montenegro.

Statistics showed that between Jan. 1 and March 12 of 2015, about two million liters of illegal fuel entered Albania. The price for this fuel was many times lower than that obtained from legitimate sources.

This large quantity of fuel was apparently smuggled in for illegal sale and to avoid taxes, said Crown Agents, recommending the customs directory strengthen control over fuel imports.
A directive launched last July forced the owners of the fishing vessels to register as taxpayers, submit customs declarations and pay value-added taxes on smuggled fuel.

The new rules also stipulate that fuel transported by fishing vessels should be marked in order to facilitate smuggling inspections.

US Praises Albania for MEK Resettlement

Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks at a news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in capital Tirana, Feb. 14, 2016.
Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks at a news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in capital Tirana,
 
 Pamela Dockins
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has used a visit to Albania to thank the government for resettling members of an Iranian opposition group known as the Mujahedin e Khalq, or MEK.

Over the past two years, Albania has taken in about 1,000 members of the MEK and has committed to resettling an additional 2,000, said a senior State Department official. Most lived in U.S.-backed camps in Iraq.

Ahead of Kerry’s Sunday visit to Tirana, the official said Kerry would not talk publicly about the resettlement effort, which remains a sensitive issue.

The U.S. has assisted Albania in its efforts to resettle the MEK, a group that has supported the U.S. in military operations in the Middle East and in its fight against terrorism.

The U.S. assistance includes a donation of $20 million to the U.N. refugee agency to help resettle the MEK, said the State Department official. The U.S. has also provided Albania with security and economic development assistance, to help the country build up its physical capacity to house the refugees.
Support for Albania's justice reforms
Kerry’s visit comes at a time when Albania is trying to adopt judicial reforms, as part of a wider effort to combat corruption. Kerry praised those efforts in his public remarks in Tirana

The country is considering legislation that would bring Albania’s judicial sector more in line with U.S. and European norms. The measure would also create an entity similar to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The U.S. and European Union provided advice to help Albania draft the provision, which would create a special anti-corruption force.

“Your country is moving in the right direction,” said Secretary Kerry during an appearance with Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Kerry added that he was “encouraged” by the judicial reform package under consideration.

“Without the support and advice of the United States, Albania would not have managed to make so much progress in its reforms, said Rama.

The judicial reforms could also benefit Albania in its bid for EU accession.

Kerry traveled to Albania from Germany, where he participated in the Munich Security Conference and an International Syria Support Group meeting.

He received a robust welcome in Albania, that included a column of U.S. and Albanian flags lining the streets along his main routes and onlookers who crowded street corners to catch a glimpse of his passing motorcade.

In addition to meeting with the country’s prime and foreign ministers, he met with opposition leaders and civil society groups.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Cutting Ties?


Cutting Ties?

It seems that Brussels has finally found a scapegoat amid the ongoing refugee crisis as a number of German politicians have proposed excluding Greece from the Schengen area.

Cutting Ties?
German politicians have accused Greece of ignoring its responsibility to protect the external borders of the European Union, from which refugees continue to flood Europe using the Balkan route.

Greece on high alert after Britons arrested for arms trafficking



The three men, of Iraqi Kurdish origin, were stopped in possession of a mammoth cache of arms and ammunition of the Greek-Turkish border

 
Rifles and ammunition
Rifles and ammunition found during the arrest of three Iraqi Kurds with British passports in two separate operations. Reuters

Helena Smith in Athens

Sunday 14 February 2016


The arrest in north-east Greece of three British men with a mammoth cache of arms and ammunition has heightened fears of Europe’s weakest link becoming a major route for the trafficking of weapons bound for Syria and Turkey.

On Sunday, counter-terrorism officials were investigating three men – all Iraqi Kurds with British passports – seized in two separate operations near the Greek-Turkish frontier. They were found in possession of 22 firearms and more than 200,000 rounds of ammunition.

“Vigilance in the area is being stepped up,” said one security official, adding that the suspects were likely to have crossed into Greece from Italy. “At this stage, nothing can be ruled out, including a link between this and last month’s arrests.”

On 31 January, a suspected jihadi of Bosnian origin and an accomplice believed to hail from Yemen were stopped in the same region with combat material also bound for Turkey. The pair, who are both Swedish passport holders, were charged with terrorist activities after appearing before a local prosecutor.
Caravan
A caravan in which guns were found Photograph: Greek coastguard

The latest arrests were made after the three men, said to be aged between 35 and 40, aroused suspicion because of the trailers with which they were travelling. Acting on a tipoff, Greek police and coastguards stopped two of the suspects at the entrance to the port of Alexandroupolis, a commercial hub in north-east Greece, late on Saturday following a surveillance operation that had lasted several days.

Photographs have since been released showing 18 shotguns and almost 40,000 bullets found in secret compartments in the caravan.

The third, also driving a caravan with German number plates, was arrested near the Kipoi border crossing on the Evros river early on Sunday. Inside, police found four Walther pistols, tens of thousands of small-calibre cartridges, eight sets of night-vision goggles and cash in various currencies.
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All three will appear in court on Tuesday, where lawyers say they have asked to speak Kurdish. They are to be charged with illegal possession of arms and weapons smuggling.

“We are in contact with local authorities in Greece following the arrests of three British nationals and are providing consular assistance,” a spokesman for Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.

Greek security authorities said that, while they had no evidence to link the men with Islamic State, they were working in close collaboration with foreign security services over the influx of refugees and economic migrants across Greece’s porous border with Turkey.