Greece demands official response from Ankara on forest first

Greece asked for an official response from Ankara in diplomatic notes simultaneously issued in Ankara and Athens on Tuesday regarding claims by former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz published in the Birgun daily last Friday of arsonist attacks on Greek forests by the Turkish deep state. Greek Foreign Ministry officials responsible for Turkish affairs met with the Turkish Embassy undersecretary on Tuesday to discuss the Greek forest fire issue as Turkish Ambassador to Greece Kerim Uras was in Ankara for a conference. Meanwhile, the Greek Embassy in Turkey had a meeting with Turkish Foreign Ministry officials on the same issue. A diplomatic note submitted by Greece to Turkish officials in both Ankara and Athens on Yilmaz's remarks demands that Ankara make a statement on the issue. A report published in the Birgun daily last Friday quoted Yilmaz as having said that former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller used discretionary funds allocated for security to set Greek forests on fire in cooperation with Turkish deep state forces. The report also claimed that Yilmaz suggested that those fires were set in retaliation for forest fires in Turkey's touristic areas during the 1990s, forests allegedly set ablaze by Greek secret service agents.