360 Chapter 3
Coding changes: Start Date changed from November 1, 1978.
MID#2175
Dispute Number: 2175
Date(s): March 23, 1981 to March 23, 1982
Participants: 640 Turkey/350 Greece
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: On April 11, 1981, the Greek government lodged a protest against Turkey
citing six air violations by Turkish planes during the previous two weeks. In at least
three of the cases, Greek military intercepted the planes and forced them to leave. The
Greek government had lifted the restrictions on air traffic over the Aegean in March
in hopes to restore relations with Turkey. On May 26, the Greek government formally
protested the actions of Turkish fighter jets that flew low and harassed Greek warships
sailing on the eastern edge of Greek territorial waters in order to observe Turkish air
and naval maneuvers near the Greek island of Samos. Tensions increased later in the
year during and after the Greek election, when the winner of the election had stated
several times during his campaign that Greece had a right to extend its claims in the
Aegean up to a 12-mile limit. Turkey expressed this concern in February 1982, and
again in early March, when they warned Greece not to infringe on international ter-
ritory and break previous agreements. The Turkish air force and navy continued to
hold military exercises that were protested by Athens as border violations. Finally, on
March 23, 1982, Greece assured Turkey that it had no intention of extending its terri-
tory into international waters.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from March 21, 1981. End Date changed from
March 28, 1982.
MID#2176
Dispute Number: 2176
Date(s): November 23, 1982 to March 9, 1984
Participants: 2 United States of America, 640 Turkey/350 Greece
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: This dispute refers to claims by Greece of a series of airspace violations
and other incidents perpetuated by Turkish and, to a lesser extent, American forces.
In actuality, almost all of the violations were part of NATO exercises—an alliance
that included Greece, even though Greece did not participate in the exercises. Most
observers speculated that Greece was delaying conversations on the conflicting air-
space claims between Greece and Turkey. Greece wanted a 10-mile airspace boundary
in the Aegean, while Turkey wanted a six-mile limit. The last incident of the dispute
concerned Greek accusations that Turkish warships shelled a Greek naval vessel and
fishing boats in the northern Aegean Sea on March 8, 1984. Turkey offered the expla-
nation that the ships were in international waters, again conducting a NATO assigned
military exercise that resulted in shrapnel being thrown into the sea, and the Greek