In reaction to Turkiye's demands to protect its rights, Athens threatened to cancel the NATO "Steadfast Dart" drill that began in Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania.
According to Greek publication Ekathimerini, Greece has threatened NATO with cancelling its "Steadfast Dart" drill, which is now taking place in Greece. According to the publication, Turkiye insisted on no flight permits for aircraft participating in the exercise within Athens' flight information region (FIR) and recognition of its jurisdiction in parts of the Aegean for search and rescue operations, particularly east of the 25th meridian.
Turkiye took the same approach at the Ramstein Red Flag Exercise early in October 2024 which was in Greece. Turkish fighter jets did not attend the drill because of the same FIR expectations as those of Athens.
NATO's strategic command in Naples handled the situation. Dendias warned that if its complaints were not heeded, Greece would withdraw from the exercise, perhaps cancelling it.
According to the publication, taking NATO's drill as hostage paid off substantially. Following reservations on Sunday, NATO eased Greece's concerns on Monday morning, enabling the drill to proceed.
On the other hand, Turkiye attends the NATO exercise with its naval force. NATO Maritime Command shared on social media that “TCG Yzb. Güngör Durmuş, TCG Ayvalık and FS Capricorne, assigned to Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2, conducted mine countermeasures operations during Exercise Steadfast Dart 25. These operations aim to ensure the safety of maritime routes and strengthen cooperation among allied forces. Steadfast Dart is the principal NATO exercise for 2025 and will be the first large-scale deployment of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force conducted across various geographical locations within Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s area of responsibility.”
Turkish Defence Ministry reposted this socail media share.
