Turkey to consider Greek soldiers’ case if coup suspects returned
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 21 April said his government would consider the case of two Greek soldiers jailed in Turkey if Athens extradited soldiers suspected of the 2016 failed coup.
Turkey is holding in pre-trial detention two Greek soldiers who crossed the border on 2 March, claiming to have lost their way in the fog.
The pair, held in the northern Turkish province of Edirne, have been charged with espionage.
‘[Greece] ask us to give back the Greek soldiers and we told them “if you make such a demand, you should first give us FETO soldiers involved in a coup against our state”,’ Erdogan told the private NTV television in an interview.
FETO is a name Ankara gives for a movement led by Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who it blames for masterminding the failed coup aimed at unseating Erdogan.
Gulen, based in the US state of Pennyslvania, has denies the accusations.
‘If they are handed to us, we will consider,’ the situation on Greek soldiers, he said.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras earlier this month demanded the release of the two soldiers, arguing that they should not be ‘pawns to blackmail’.
Turkey’s ties with Greece have taken a strained turn over Athens’ failure to extradite eight Turkish soldiers Ankara says were part of the coup bid.
Greek authorities say they would not have a fair trial in their home country as the purge of Erdogan opponents continue under the state of emergency.
Erdogan on on 21 April said Greece had become a ‘first stop’ for coup suspects who later flee to other European countries.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain]()
Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.
-
![How deepening AI usage can boost efficiency and maximise effects for forces]()
How deepening AI usage can boost efficiency and maximise effects for forces
Saab has outlined how it is using artificial intelligence to make training more like electronic gaming, while the UK’s Power Size Technologies is applying the same technology to better evaluate and design vehicle capability, moving AI-enabled innovation further upstream from the frontline.
-
![From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)]()
From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)
Philipp von Brandenstein, Head of Corporate Communications at Rheinmetall, explains how Eurosatory 2026 marked a new stage in the company's evolution.
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
-
![US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule]()
US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule
The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.
