The alarm sounded yet again yesterday in Evros after the Turkish authorities informed the Greek authorities that about 400 illegal immigrants were stranded on an island within Greek territory. After checking the coordinates given in the information, it was determined that this was indeed an area within the Greek borders, after which a verification operation was launched. The surveillance system with cameras and drones did not reveal any traces of the presence of people on the island, and in the second year it was decided to conduct an investigation on the spot by the police, with the assistance of representatives of Frontex and members of the Greek Red Cross. . Nothing came of the on-site investigation, as officially announced by the EL.AS headquarters. During the operation, the presence of the Turkish Gendarmerie on the Turkish side was intense. The Greek authorities attribute the incident to Turkey’s tactics of maintaining problems and tension in the region.

At the same time, regarding the depth of Turkey’s penetration into the Western Balkans, especially into a country like Serbia, which has traditionally been considered friendly to Greece, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will try to answer during his visit to Belgrade today. Recall that just two days ago, the presidents of Turkey and Serbia signed several agreements in Belgrade, including on the supply of Bayraktar UAVs. Turkish infiltration into the Balkans has been the focus of attention in Athens for some time, and developments in Kosovo are being watched very closely. Yesterday, during a briefing by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the forthcoming ratification of the protocols on accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, Mr. Dendias said that he would visit Kyiv on October 6.

At the same time, the Turkish provocation is condemned not only by Athens, but also by the Arab countries. Thus, on the sidelines of the ministerial session of the League of Arab States in Cairo, the Committee once again expressed concern about “the continued Turkish military presence in the territories of a number of Arab countries and Turkish interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries, as well as Turkey’s repeated violations of Security Council resolutions related to the imposition of an embargo on supply of arms to Libya.