American F-16s shot down an armed Turkish drone, creating a serious snag in relations between the two sides.

At first, the Turkish armed forces said that the downed drone was not Turkish. Later, however, the American Pentagon confirmed that the drone it shot down was Turkish. However, the Turkish Authorities do not confirm, as Manolis Kostidis reports from Istanbul.

Sozcu newspaper correspondent Razi Canikligil reported: “The Turkish authorities say that the armed drone that was shot down does not belong to Turkey. But US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters and the AP that the armed drone was Turkish. In the news of Reuters, however, it states that the armed drone was flying far above the place where the American soldiers were. The Americans say that “this particular drone was flying in an unsafe manner and was not synchronized with us” and was shot down for safety. of American forces. It was declared to be a Turkish drone.”

Emergency phone call from the US Minister of Defense to his Turkish counterpart

After the incident, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on the phone with his Turkish counterpart Guler in a conversation during which mutual explanations were given.

At the same time, Washington asked Turkey to stop actions that cause danger to the forces fighting the Islamic State.

Halk TV correspondent Cetiner Cetin reported: “There are about 900 US soldiers in the area and they are working together with the PKK/YPG terrorist units. And the USA emphasizes every time that ‘these are our partners in the fight against the Islamic State’. Also, we must emphasize that in the Pentagon budget for 2024 there will again be military aid to the PKK/YPG. The US will not change its stance. If we see that on the front of the region there are Russia and Iran. The US does not want to leave a vacuum. Of course, Trump had stated that the US is in the region for oil as well. Well, we’re talking about a relationship of interests.”

Turkish analysts question the sovereignty of Greek islands and call for depolitisation.

“We don’t have a single difference with Greece. There are the islands of disputed sovereignty, the demilitarization of the islands.”

Journalist Metehan Demir reported: “Despite the Lausanne and Paris treaties, 16 of the 23 islands are being militarized and are thus violating international law. Have you heard any reaction from the EU? Or from the US? Here they have signed a military cooperation agreement and each island can and does use it as a military base. Also, Greece’s efforts to explore the possibility of extending its territorial waters from 6 miles to 12 miles continue. The issue of the continental shelf difference also continues. There is the issue of Cyprus, there is the EEZ. As there is the issue of geographical formations whose dominance has not been determined. In other words, there is an unknown situation as to what will happen with the sovereignty of the islands, islets and rocky islets. There is the issue of demilitarization, the situation of the ‘Turks’ of western Thrace

The photo of the new doctrine starring Kalin and Fidan – Fidan had said “let the third parties leave the area”. The US responded by shooting down the Turkish drone.

Turkish media “Greece places Spike missiles on the border with Turkey”

They have a range of 35 km and will be installed on islands to protect the coast, Haber7 reported.