https://sputnikglobe.com/20160302/german-defense-ministry-denies-turkey-blocking-lesbos-visit-1035658273.html
German MoD Refutes Reports of Turkey Blocking Minister’s Visit to Lesbos
German MoD Refutes Reports of Turkey Blocking Minister’s Visit to Lesbos
Sputnik International
The German Defense Ministry on Wednesday denied reports that the Turkish government was blocking a visit by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to the Greek... 02.03.2016, Sputnik International
2016-03-02T12:56+0000
2016-03-02T12:56+0000
2016-03-02T13:02+0000
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German MoD Refutes Reports of Turkey Blocking Minister’s Visit to Lesbos
12:56 GMT 02.03.2016 (Updated: 13:02 GMT 02.03.2016) The German Defense Ministry on Wednesday denied reports that the Turkish government was blocking a visit by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to the Greek island of Lesbos to assess the situation with refugees there.
BERLIN (Sputnik) — Earlier on Wednesday, Greece’s Skai television reported that the Turkish government had opposed von der Leyen’s helicopter landing on the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea, arguing that Lesbos is a demilitarized zone where any military transport is outlawed.
“Reports from the Greek side that the Turkish government is blocking the visit of the German defense minister do not correspond to reality," the ministry’s spokesman Jens Flosdorff told RIA Novosti.
16 February 2016, 13:46 GMT
Flosdorff added that the defense minister’s trip was unlikely to happen in the coming weeks.
According to the TV channel, Turkey also denied the German minister’s request to visit the Turkish coast and personally assess the situation with refugees and the activities of migrant smugglers there.
The Aegean Sea islands have been a major source of tension between Greece and Turkey since the 1970s, bringing the two countries to the brink of military confrontation in 1987 and 1996.
