Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar on January 29 paid a visit to the disputed Aegean islets of Kardak (Imia), the Turkish Armed Forces has announced.
The visit comes amid fresh tension between the two countries after the Greek Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the extradition of eight former army officers who had fled to Greece after the failed July 15 coup.
Accompanied by the commanders of the land, naval and air forces, Akar sailed to the islets of the Kardak region with two assault boats after conducting inspections on ships belonging to the Aksaz Naval Base Command, the military said in a statement.
Greek and Turkish warships were involved Sunday in a brief faceoff near a group of disputed the islets in the Aegean, coinciding with renewed tensions between Athens and Ankara.
Located just off the Turkish coast and claimed by Ankara, the uninhabited rocky specks are a historic flare point in a long-running demarcation dispute.
The Greek defence ministry said a Turkish navy missile boat, "along with two special forces rafts," entered Greek territorial waters near the Kardak islets. Greek coastguard vessels and a navy gunboat shadowed the Turkish group, notifying them of the violation, and the Turks left the area after about seven minutes, it said.
Turkish armed forces said that General Akar was onboard the ship to "review and inspect" Turkish vessels in the Aegean.
A row over their sovereignty islets flared in January 1996, when the two countries sent marines to two neighbouring islands in a sign of an imminent armed confrontation.
